05/05/2006
Pete Wentz in Battle with a Wingnut Mom
Pete Wentz of the band Fall Out Boy is back in the news, but not for falling out of his pants this time. Some comments he made about tolerance at a concert in Charlotte have put him in a war of words with a bigot mom.
The mom sent a letter to Wentz which he posted on his website. It reads, in part, "The ticket said 'all ages,' and your band was very foul-mouthed and anti-morals. Charlotte is not the demoralized city that liberal San Francisco and other cities across the North and West are. I had looked forward to this concert with my girls for months [and] I didn't spend over $200 on gas, food and, unfortunately, shirts for you to give your own personal political testimony. ... This was a concert, not some liberal homosexual rally...I am not the only parent with morals that had children at this concert ... your responsibility was to sing your songs. When you opened your mouth to talk, you blew it. Here's to your band being just another Spice Girls, looking back and remembering the good times and 15 minutes of fame, because you [underestimated] who pays your bills. By the way, my children will not be a part of your sick idea of family."
So what were the words that so irked this bigot mom?
Wentz replies: "The only thing I said in Charlotte was, 'You can leave this show and say, 'I think this guy is an arrogant jerk,' or think, 'This band is better than this one,' because these are your opinions. The only thing we consider unacceptable is for you to engage in sexist, racist or homophobic behavior. If you do, we don't want you as a fan. Return our merch and leave.''
Wentz continued:
"I have a mouth like a sailor, it frustrated my mother growing up. I try my best to be the best person I can be. I want to be a good role model for younger kids. I don't smoke, drink or do drugs. I censor myself the best I can, but at the same time, I am not going to change in order to simply make myself more lucrative. I encourage fans of our band to grow up to become good people and to change the world. Unfortunately, I don't believe that treating other people as inhuman is acceptable. If that is offensive to you, I apologize, but we don't want you to be part of our fanbase. [Our show] is not a liberal homosexual rally, but at the same time, it will never be a Ku Klux Klan rally. We don't need to sell tickets that badly."
Bravo to Wentz and Fall Out Boy. It's refreshing to see an attitude like his. I hope the mother's kids listen up.
Posted 9:40 AM EST by Andy Towle in Music | Permalink
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Intollerance, ignormace and bigotry are certianly making a major comeback across America.
Unfortunate that the mother will NOT listen up. Her mind is made up, and I am sure she already has her social circles spinning in hatred... because that is what I am reading people seem more inclined to do these days. I have a friend who lives in Charlotte, and I am reading that the attitude is getting VERY conservative there. Even the Gay Pride events have been cancelled because of (community) complaints that withdrew the funding.
I laud Wentz as well. It would be nice to see more of his positive rebuke to these crapheads.
Rad
Posted by: Rad | May 5, 2006 10:03:56 AM
crap. does this mean i have to like falloutboy now? he might be in love with morrissey, but his band kind of sucks it. :(
Posted by: dave | May 5, 2006 10:20:54 AM
Dave....you don't have to like an artist's work just because they may be a decent person. How ever you feel about his music is valid if you truly don't like it. He's just being the type of person that everyone should be...be happy for that and listen to something you do like. :o)
Posted by: Patrick | May 5, 2006 10:26:31 AM
oh d*mn. now i'm getting a crush on Pete Wentz... ;-)
Posted by: gordon | May 5, 2006 10:59:19 AM
NOTHING will make this bigoted woman's daughters die hard falloutboy fans like having their mother forbid them to listen to him.
As a kid growing up in a very conservative, religious family in Mississippi, I liked KISS. When my mother found out she went crazy, calling them demonic and forbidding me to have anything to do with them. From that day forward I went from being a passing fan to an obsessed, adoring fan. I still love KISS today. Had my mother not thrown down the gauntlet I probably would have grown bored with them within a couple of months.
Hopefully this narrow-minded mother just made lifelong fans of Pete Wentz out of her daughters.
I salute Pete for his strength of conviction and courage to speak out against injustice. It’s really admirable to hear a person tell his fans, who pay his bills, that if they are bigots he doesn’t want them as fans. He seems more concerned about doing what’s right than doing what makes him a lot of money. There are a few people left in this world who’s character exceeds their ego.
Posted by: Zeke | May 5, 2006 11:24:49 AM
That is awesome! I love it!!!!! Pete Wentz is my dream guy! :)
Posted by: Roy | May 5, 2006 12:57:26 PM
Pete seems like a great guy...sexy too ;)
Posted by: Adam | May 5, 2006 1:20:57 PM
So... Fall Out Boy is a band?
Posted by: Ralph | May 5, 2006 2:04:08 PM
What will happen with these girls is that they are going to take Pete Wentz's word over their mom's about whether it's cool to accept homosexuals. And that's a good thing.
Posted by: Jefferson | May 5, 2006 2:16:28 PM
Bravo for making a bigot look like a bigot. And musically, the Lindbergh Palace mix of "Dance, Dance" is quite excellent even if you don't like Fall Out Boy.
Posted by: Greg | May 5, 2006 7:43:39 PM
Hey, I know a good way for Fall Out Boy to get some free publicity...
Posted by: Chad Hanging | May 5, 2006 7:50:39 PM
P.S. Could someone be so kind as to repost the penis pics he says he's so embarassed about? Thank you in advance.
Posted by: Chad Hanging | May 6, 2006 3:38:00 AM
Actually Chad, Pete said that after "feeling badly about this for about 24 hours, I am now ready to get back to laughing." Maybe just a lil embarrased...
Posted by: Jase | May 6, 2006 2:50:41 PM
Thanks for clearing that up Jase. Now I can actually have a night of restful sleep FINALLY.
Posted by: Chad Hanging | May 7, 2006 3:50:25 AM
coming from a guy who let his cock flop all over the internet....yeah, right
Posted by: Bea Gass | May 7, 2006 4:42:59 AM
Some mom didn't do her homework. How do you expect a band with so many sexual innuendos on their latest CD to NOT be "foul-mouthed"? Have her daughters NOT listened to the CD multiple times?! Of course, 10yr olds may not fully comprehend all the lyrics, but the parents have no excuse. She also should have considered that the guys of Fall Out Boy are regular, hot-blooded, twenty-something year old guys. Umm...hello? And they do whatever the f*ck they want! Fall Out Boy puts on an amazing show... they're a great group of guys!... and Pete's dick is amazing! Whoever doesn't agree is clearly jealous!
Keep rockin' fellas. All your true fans stand behind you no matter what!
Posted by: Oh yeah! | May 7, 2006 9:44:39 PM
i love pete so much, and not just because he is hott [so veryyy hott and sexy as hell], but because of the way he speaks his mind and doesn't just want to be a crowd pleaser. his sarcasm is so funny (go the fall out boy official web site and you'll see) he is real, not just some fake wanna be. he is my hero. x0x luv ya
Posted by: marissa_x0x | Jun 18, 2006 1:10:35 AM
Omg... this woman is absolutely insane... first of all she's obviously not a good parent if she didn't check out her 10 yr. old daughters music first... second thing Pete wentz is an amazing person... he is a great bass player, and song writer, and he is brave enough to speak his mind and stand up for what he believes in... i give him 2 thumbs up... besides... he's 27, he's a rock star and has a bazillion fans... he can do whatever the F**k he wants... and that stupid bigot with her morals all twisted wasted her time, ink, and killed a freakin tree sending my Pete that letter... screw her...
Posted by: kelli | Jul 5, 2006 10:21:41 AM
Im happy that Pete, finally knows what hes talking about. This woman is a media seeking waste of a human being, no one asked her to come back to the concert if she didnt appreciate it, she has the right to leave the concert, throw away all her kids Fall Out Boy albums and merch and never listen to their music again but instead what does she do? Send a email to Pete for publicity.
Posted by: Buddha | Jul 13, 2006 11:39:04 PM
i love you so much
Posted by: alyssa burke | Oct 17, 2006 10:26:42 AM
i love you so much
Posted by: alyssa burke | Oct 17, 2006 10:26:44 AM
i love you
Posted by: aleeah | Jan 31, 2007 4:54:24 PM
I think me and pete wentz r related.... becausewe both have the same last name... but i don't think so.... my dang mother won't buy me those FOB tickets yet..... can u buy me some pete?
Posted by: Hannah Wentz | Apr 10, 2007 10:12:52 PM
http://messexxx.info x
Posted by: Nbkvqpt | Jun 2, 2007 12:00:04 PM
http://messexxx.info x
Posted by: Nbkvqpt | Jun 2, 2007 12:00:05 PM