Rocker Ted Nugent is encountering big trouble in Indian Country, as two tribes last week became the latest to cancel Nugent concerts due to what the tribal councils say are Nugent’s racist remarks.
Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene casino canceled a Nugent concert due to what the casino called his “history of racist and hate-filled remarks.” According to Indian Country Today, that history was “brought to Tribal Council’s attention,” prompting the concert to be cancelled.
“We know what it’s like to be the target of hateful messages and we would never want perpetuate hate in any way,” said tribal spokeswoman Heather Keen, who added in a statement, “Reviewing scheduled acts is not something in which Tribal Council or the tribal government participates; however, if it had been up to Tribal Council this act would have never been booked.”
The tribe cited a remark by Nugent earlier this year in which he referred to President Obama as a “subhuman mongrel,” his unabashed support of the moniker of the Washington Redskins football team in an op-ed he wrote for the conservative website WorldNetDaily.
That piece, titled “A Tomahawk Chop to Political Correctness,” began, “Every so often some numbskull beats the politically correct war drum,” and referred to “Native Americans whose feathers are ruffled” at the Redskins name.
The fallout from Idaho spilled over to Tacoma, Washington, where the Puyallup Tribe’s Emerald Queen Casino canceled two Nugent shows scheduled for August.
“Our tribal council was concerned about the racial remarks that Mr. Nugent had made recently and decided that they didn’t want their venue used to promote his racism,” said John Weymer, spokesman for the Puyallup Tribe, in an interview with the Seattle Times.
Weymer told the newspaper the casino has received an increasing number of complaints about Nugent being booked for shows there, where he has performed for nine years.
“We’ve had complaints in the past about Ted Nugent, but not to this extent,” Weymer said. “I believe it’s an organized group that does not want to tolerate Ted’s racist remarks. We’ve gotten some death threats.”
Nugent, of course, has commented that organized liberal groups are conspiring to wreck his career by alleging racism—one liberal website actually did take Nugent’s quotes about the liberal groups out of context and allege that it was Native Americans, not liberals, that Nugent referred to as “unclean vermin.”
“They literally have an army assigned to destroy Ted Nugent,” the rocker told the Radio.com website. “To call me a racist is a clear act of desperation. Because everybody knows I’m not a racist.”
Puyallup Tribe Tribal Chairman Bill Sterud was not moved, reportedly calling Nugent a “jackass” who will never be booked at the casino again.
