Marilyn Manson issues statement after pretending to shoot San Bernardino audience with fake rifle
'My performance was not meant to be disrespectful or show any insensitivity'
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Your support makes all the difference.Marilyn Manson has courted controversy after pointing a fake assault rifle at an audience in San Bernardino, California, the same city where 14 people were killed and 24 injured during a December 2015 terrorist attack.
While performing "We Know Where You F**king Live” on Sunday at the festival Knotfest Meets Ozzfest, the singer used a microphone attached to the prop rifle.
When the 45-year-old — who has been confined to a wheelchair ever since an on-stage accident — sang, the fake gun pointed at the audience. Watch footage of the performance below.
Manson has since spoken out about the incident, calling the performance an “act of theatre” meant to critique how gun violence has been normalised in the US.
"In an era where mass shootings have become a nearly daily occurrence this was an act of theatre in an attempt to make a statement about how easily accessible semi-automatic weapons are and how seeing them has become normalised,” the statement reads.
He continued: ”My performance was not meant to be disrespectful or show any insensitivity. The prop microphone I used on stage was handed to me with the approval of a police officer.”
The festival appearance was Manson’s first performance since injuring himself earlier this year when a stage prop crushed the singer. Nine shows were subsequently cancelled.
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