It appears as if Fox News co-host Greg Gutfeld and shock-rocker Marilyn Manson have gotten into a bit of a feud over something Manson recently stated in an interview, which, ironically enough, wasn't meant to be shocking, even in light of a recently released album.
In an interview with A.V. Club, Manson was asked about the recent shooting rampage by Muslim extremists on Charlie Hebdo employees, and responded with this:
"Someone asked my opinion about [the Paris attacks], and I said, 'I can't say they didn't ask for it. It's kind of a dumb idea to do something like that. I'm not saying they deserved it. I'm just saying, personally, would I f**king make fun of a terrorist group? Absolutely not."
Co-host of the Fox News show, The Five, Greg Gutfeld didn't take too kindly to that quote, and said this in response:
"Spoken like a true rebel, the kind who trashes hotel rooms and some child's mother must clean up for minimum wage. How daring."
The feud has since ensued on Twitter, where Manson has posted the following tweets:
"I'm so sad that the 'racist' @greggutfeld wasn't afraid what would happen when he opened his f**king mouth. God bless you."
and
"@greggutfeld. Have at it kids. Whatever you do, make sure it is biblical."
Gutfeld then responded via his show, calling Manson a "pale-faced pop-tart," before saying the musician's fans are "all presumably still sleeping under Pokemon sheets."
Manson then posted his full answer to the question regarding Charlie Hebdo, underlining the following sentences:
"...If I really had a hard-on or a desire to piss someone off because I felt that there was a reason to do it, I would do it. And I have done it.."
and
"...There aren't things I wouldn't say. I would say anything..."
Manson then tweeted, "Best people who call themselves journalists, myself not included, are the funny ones that are dick-height to me," poking fun of Gutfeld's height, or lack there of, as the Fox host is only 5'5''.
To that, Gutfeld responded, "hey @marilynmanson left out this: saying of the dead Charlie Hebdo editors, 'can't say they didn't kind of ask for it' nice dick joke tho!"
Manson has since replied with this tweet:
"I've had too many death threats. I've had my ass beaten the old-fashioned way. And freedom of speech doesn't come with a dental plan. STFU."
Not much has been written by either party since then, except for Gutfeld posting a link from an "unbiased" writer at Breitbart defending him. I place "unbiased" in quotes because saying a writer at Breitbart is non-partisan would be like saying pregnancy is more difficult on men than on women.
Now, if I were to just look at the quote Gutfeld selected, I'd have quite mixed feelings on it. Being a writer/satirist myself, I cringe and feel nauseated at the thought of an extremist coming after me for writing a satirical piece at the expense of his or her beliefs. On the other hand, considering Muslim extremists have done similar things before with regard to satire at the expense of Muhammad, am I completely shocked at the end result? Unfortunately, no. So, when looking at that incomplete quote by Manson, I personally think he's just being honest, and that's probably the part about it that bugs me the most - that satirists (and the like) have to worry about extremists responding to our articles or cartoons with violence.
What Gutfeld failed to mention in all his criticisms, however, were Manson's full quotes on the matter in the interview. Manson attempted to clarify his remark in the interview with the following quotes:
- "I wouldn't make fun of some known terrorist group, if that's what they did. I don't even really know the whole story. I'm just saying, sometimes you need to think. Some stand-up comedians say things, and then sometimes they can't. You know the guy from Seinfeld, he said things that... I mean people say things. Words are just words. But to some people, they're not just words. When they're very fundamentalist, and whether it be Christian or Islamic or whatever it is, some people can not take jokes. And those are the people that you pretty much avoid making jokes about. That's what I've learned."
- "There's always a cause and effect. And that sucks.
I mean, I am guilty as charged in the same way. I made a record called Antichrist Superstar and I've had so many death threats that I lost count. But I wasn't trying to make fun of anybody in particular. I was just making fun of the fact that I think that religious people aren't technically certain of what they believe in. They are almost similar to people who believe in politics, they're almost to people who think they know rock musicians, because they listen to the music.
The idea of God, what is it? People worship different idols. They do whatever. And if you look at the Bible, and this is an example, because I had to look at it every f**king day until 10th grade, and memorize it until I got kicked out of Christian school for putting a dildo in the Bible teacher's desk, which I took from my grandfather's perverted basement. We don't even need to go down that trail, but the point being that the Bible has got everything you need to make any horror film. It's got zombies, it's got the devil, it's got Lucifer. It doesn't have the Antichrist.
See, the whole thing is people don't read the Bible properly at all. At no point is there an Antichrist. At no point is there Satan as a character, and it's the same with Lucifer. Lucifer was a fallen angel and the bringer of light. Basically what America was based off of, if you want to believe in the Illuminati and the fact that a bunch of guys came over to this 'empty' country and killed a bunch of Injuns, as they called them-I'm part Indian, feather not dots. They just wrote a piece of paper and that's our country. And rappers are 'all about the Benjamins,' and Benjamin Franklin legalized slavery. It doesn't make any sense.
And believe me, I did not pay attention in history. I'm surprised I even graduated, because I didn't show up. When I got kicked out of Christian school and went to public school, I never went to class. I played drums in marching band, which was not cool. When you think about it, it should have been cool. But it was not. And I ended up playing the triangle, which is probably the most effeminate instrument you can play when you're the kid that came from Christian school and goes to public school. So I got my share of ass beatings. Not cyber bullying-I got it kicked the old-fashioned way, in person."
- "Oh, no, no, no. I mean, just out of pragmatism and common sense. If I really had a hard-on or a desire to piss someone off because I felt that there was a reason to do it, I would do it. And I have done it. I did not naively go into the world of rock 'n' roll, making a record called Antichrist Superstar not expecting to be pissing off a lot of people. But I didn't know how literal they would take it, and how angry that they would be, completely going against the very simple rules of the Bible by making death threats to me. That really proved my point. And that's why I was willing to f**king go completely, directly into the fire with the whole thing, just to prove my point. Maybe it was because I really disliked my childhood, growing up in a Christian school. My parents weren't even religious. They just sent me there for a better education, I suppose. And look how that turned out. There aren't things I wouldn't say. I would say anything. There's no word that anyone could call me that would upset me, except a failure, and I just prove them wrong instead of getting mad at them."
So, while I'll never defend nor understand extremists coming after satirists like myself, I also think Greg Gutfeld blew Marilyn Manson's quote out of proportion. As one can tell by Manson's rather thorough responses, as sad as it is to say, the shock-rocker doesn't seem at all shocked by the attack on Charlie Hebdo. I suppose when one gets as many death threats as Manson has gotten in his day, it can perhaps desensitize one to others receiving similar threats, and it may, in turn, alter their perspective and opinion as a result. And as far as Gutfeld goes, I suppose he's properly placed on Fox News, because as loose rhymes will tell you, Fox sounds somewhat similar to out-of-context. Yes, according to Gutfeld, they'd probably sound identical...
In an interview with A.V. Club, Manson was asked about the recent shooting rampage by Muslim extremists on Charlie Hebdo employees, and responded with this:
"Someone asked my opinion about [the Paris attacks], and I said, 'I can't say they didn't ask for it. It's kind of a dumb idea to do something like that. I'm not saying they deserved it. I'm just saying, personally, would I f**king make fun of a terrorist group? Absolutely not."
Co-host of the Fox News show, The Five, Greg Gutfeld didn't take too kindly to that quote, and said this in response:
"Spoken like a true rebel, the kind who trashes hotel rooms and some child's mother must clean up for minimum wage. How daring."
The feud has since ensued on Twitter, where Manson has posted the following tweets:
"I'm so sad that the 'racist' @greggutfeld wasn't afraid what would happen when he opened his f**king mouth. God bless you."
and
"@greggutfeld. Have at it kids. Whatever you do, make sure it is biblical."
Gutfeld then responded via his show, calling Manson a "pale-faced pop-tart," before saying the musician's fans are "all presumably still sleeping under Pokemon sheets."
Manson then posted his full answer to the question regarding Charlie Hebdo, underlining the following sentences:
"...If I really had a hard-on or a desire to piss someone off because I felt that there was a reason to do it, I would do it. And I have done it.."
and
"...There aren't things I wouldn't say. I would say anything..."
Manson then tweeted, "Best people who call themselves journalists, myself not included, are the funny ones that are dick-height to me," poking fun of Gutfeld's height, or lack there of, as the Fox host is only 5'5''.
To that, Gutfeld responded, "hey @marilynmanson left out this: saying of the dead Charlie Hebdo editors, 'can't say they didn't kind of ask for it' nice dick joke tho!"
Manson has since replied with this tweet:
"I've had too many death threats. I've had my ass beaten the old-fashioned way. And freedom of speech doesn't come with a dental plan. STFU."
Not much has been written by either party since then, except for Gutfeld posting a link from an "unbiased" writer at Breitbart defending him. I place "unbiased" in quotes because saying a writer at Breitbart is non-partisan would be like saying pregnancy is more difficult on men than on women.
Now, if I were to just look at the quote Gutfeld selected, I'd have quite mixed feelings on it. Being a writer/satirist myself, I cringe and feel nauseated at the thought of an extremist coming after me for writing a satirical piece at the expense of his or her beliefs. On the other hand, considering Muslim extremists have done similar things before with regard to satire at the expense of Muhammad, am I completely shocked at the end result? Unfortunately, no. So, when looking at that incomplete quote by Manson, I personally think he's just being honest, and that's probably the part about it that bugs me the most - that satirists (and the like) have to worry about extremists responding to our articles or cartoons with violence.
What Gutfeld failed to mention in all his criticisms, however, were Manson's full quotes on the matter in the interview. Manson attempted to clarify his remark in the interview with the following quotes:
- "I wouldn't make fun of some known terrorist group, if that's what they did. I don't even really know the whole story. I'm just saying, sometimes you need to think. Some stand-up comedians say things, and then sometimes they can't. You know the guy from Seinfeld, he said things that... I mean people say things. Words are just words. But to some people, they're not just words. When they're very fundamentalist, and whether it be Christian or Islamic or whatever it is, some people can not take jokes. And those are the people that you pretty much avoid making jokes about. That's what I've learned."
- "There's always a cause and effect. And that sucks.
I mean, I am guilty as charged in the same way. I made a record called Antichrist Superstar and I've had so many death threats that I lost count. But I wasn't trying to make fun of anybody in particular. I was just making fun of the fact that I think that religious people aren't technically certain of what they believe in. They are almost similar to people who believe in politics, they're almost to people who think they know rock musicians, because they listen to the music.
The idea of God, what is it? People worship different idols. They do whatever. And if you look at the Bible, and this is an example, because I had to look at it every f**king day until 10th grade, and memorize it until I got kicked out of Christian school for putting a dildo in the Bible teacher's desk, which I took from my grandfather's perverted basement. We don't even need to go down that trail, but the point being that the Bible has got everything you need to make any horror film. It's got zombies, it's got the devil, it's got Lucifer. It doesn't have the Antichrist.
See, the whole thing is people don't read the Bible properly at all. At no point is there an Antichrist. At no point is there Satan as a character, and it's the same with Lucifer. Lucifer was a fallen angel and the bringer of light. Basically what America was based off of, if you want to believe in the Illuminati and the fact that a bunch of guys came over to this 'empty' country and killed a bunch of Injuns, as they called them-I'm part Indian, feather not dots. They just wrote a piece of paper and that's our country. And rappers are 'all about the Benjamins,' and Benjamin Franklin legalized slavery. It doesn't make any sense.
And believe me, I did not pay attention in history. I'm surprised I even graduated, because I didn't show up. When I got kicked out of Christian school and went to public school, I never went to class. I played drums in marching band, which was not cool. When you think about it, it should have been cool. But it was not. And I ended up playing the triangle, which is probably the most effeminate instrument you can play when you're the kid that came from Christian school and goes to public school. So I got my share of ass beatings. Not cyber bullying-I got it kicked the old-fashioned way, in person."
- "Oh, no, no, no. I mean, just out of pragmatism and common sense. If I really had a hard-on or a desire to piss someone off because I felt that there was a reason to do it, I would do it. And I have done it. I did not naively go into the world of rock 'n' roll, making a record called Antichrist Superstar not expecting to be pissing off a lot of people. But I didn't know how literal they would take it, and how angry that they would be, completely going against the very simple rules of the Bible by making death threats to me. That really proved my point. And that's why I was willing to f**king go completely, directly into the fire with the whole thing, just to prove my point. Maybe it was because I really disliked my childhood, growing up in a Christian school. My parents weren't even religious. They just sent me there for a better education, I suppose. And look how that turned out. There aren't things I wouldn't say. I would say anything. There's no word that anyone could call me that would upset me, except a failure, and I just prove them wrong instead of getting mad at them."
So, while I'll never defend nor understand extremists coming after satirists like myself, I also think Greg Gutfeld blew Marilyn Manson's quote out of proportion. As one can tell by Manson's rather thorough responses, as sad as it is to say, the shock-rocker doesn't seem at all shocked by the attack on Charlie Hebdo. I suppose when one gets as many death threats as Manson has gotten in his day, it can perhaps desensitize one to others receiving similar threats, and it may, in turn, alter their perspective and opinion as a result. And as far as Gutfeld goes, I suppose he's properly placed on Fox News, because as loose rhymes will tell you, Fox sounds somewhat similar to out-of-context. Yes, according to Gutfeld, they'd probably sound identical...
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