Marilyn Manson Says Fake Assault Rifle Prop at San Bernardino Audience Was 'An Act of Theater'

By Jessica Ferrera, Christian Post Contributor Friday, November 10, 2017

Marilyn Manson is under fire for a stage act where he pointed a fake rifle at concertgoers during a recent performance in San Bernardino, California.

In one of his performances, Manson was singing the song "We Know Where You [Expletive] Live" while riding a wheelchair. He was then handed a fake assault rifle that doubled as a microphone, where it looked like he was aiming a gun at the audience as he sang.

Manson's show at Knotfest Meets Ozzfest in the said city was his first stage appearance since he was injured in one of his early stops for the "Heaven Upside Down" tour in late September.

The controversial performance on Sunday notably happened several hours following the horrifying mass shooting that killed 26 people who were attending a service at the First Baptist Church in Texas.

Following a wave of criticisms for the fake assault rifle stunt, Manson issued a statement to Variety and explained: "In an era where mass shootings have become a nearly daily occurrence, this was an act of theater in an attempt to make a statement about how easily accessible semi-automatic weapons are and how seeing them has become normalized."

The rock singer and artist also maintained that his "art has always been a reaction to popular culture and my way to make people think about the horrible things that happen in this world."

Manson added that he did not mean to disrespect anyone with the said performance and said that the prop he used in the controversial stage act was approved by a police officer before the actual show commenced.

"My empathy goes out to anyone who has been affected by the irresponsible and reprehensible misuse of REAL guns," Manson added.

San Bernardino is one of the many cities in the United States where mass shootings have occurred, killing a number of innocent lives. In 2015, 14 people were killed while 21 more were injured when a gunman opened fire in an attack that was later linked to the Islamic State.