Corey Taylor: “You’re a F*ckin’ Assh*le” if You’re Unvaccinated and Attend Shows
Corey Taylor has been off social media for roughly two years now, but those of us who can remember all the way back to 2019 fondly recall that he was often vocal about his political and social views, usually on Twitter. Thankfully Corey still does plenty of press, and his latest politically-charged comment comes on everyone’s favorite hot-button issue of the moment: vaccines.
It won’t surprise you to learn that Taylor is vehemently in favor of the Covid-19 vaccine given his previously expressed political stances, but he also conducted a Covid-19 safe tour this past spring, one of the very first artists to do so, imposing a blanket set of restrictions rather than allowing often-loose localities to dictate.
Speaking to Consequence of Sound, Taylor did not hold back when it comes to the intersection of vaccinations and live shows, stopping short of saying he believed in a vaccine mandate but in essence saying he does. He explained:
“People act like getting a vaccine is signing a deal with the devil. It’s been so politicized and spun out of control in these conspiratorial echo chambers that people forget that you can go find all the info you want online to educate yourself about everything about these vaccines.
“The fact that [vaccines] have been demonized, almost to the point of these gnarly conspiracy theories, no wonder why people are afraid of it — because they’re listening to the wrong people.
“Do I think it should be a requirement for people to be vaccinated to go to shows? Yes and no. Here’s the thing: there shouldn’t be a mandate, but guess what, man, if you’re going to put people at risk of getting sick, you shouldn’t want to go to a show. That’s common sense. And if you do put people at risk, then you’re a f**kin’ asshole. And you shouldn’t be let in anyway.
“So, for me, it’s a common-sense thing, but we don’t have a lot of common sense these days, man.”
Mostly I agree with Taylor, except for the part about educating oneself online about vaccines. If a person Googles any suspicion they have about a vaccine, they’ll easily find convincing literature supporting their viewpoint (whether it can be trusted or not), so the ol’ “do your own research” line is not only dangerous, but it’s what’s gotten us into this whole mess in the first place. I’m guessing Taylor is well aware of that, though, referencing “listening to the wrong people” and the lack of common sense later in the quote.
You can watch the full video interview with Taylor below.
Catch Slipknot on tour with Killswitch Engage, Fever 333 and Code Orange:
Sep. 25 – Des Moines, IA – National Balloon Classic Field (Knotfest Iowa) [tickets]
Sep. 28 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre [tickets]
Sep. 29 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater [tickets]
Oct. 01 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center [tickets]
Oct. 02 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre [tickets]
Oct. 03 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater [tickets]
Oct. 05 – Syracuse, NY – Lakeview Amphitheater – Syracuse [tickets]
Oct. 08 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center [tickets]
Oct. 09 – Hartford, CT – XFINITY Theatre [tickets]
Oct. 10 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center [tickets]
Oct. 12 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion [tickets]
Oct. 13 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live [tickets]
Oct. 15 – Burgettstown, PA – S&T Bank Music Park [tickets]
Oct. 17 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion [tickets]
Oct. 19 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 20 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 22 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek [tickets]
Oct. 23 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 24 – Pelham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 26 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP [tickets]
Oct. 28 – Del Valle, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater [tickets]
Oct. 29 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (no Code Orange) [tickets]
Oct. 30 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion [tickets]
Nov. 01 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater [tickets]
Nov. 02 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion [tickets]
Nov. 05 – Los Angeles, CA — Banc of California Stadium (Knotfest Los Angeles)
