The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus vocalist Ronnie Winter posted a series of livestreamed videos this past Monday, June 16th, expounding upon his recent proclamation over the weekend that those who voted for current U.S. President Donald J. Trump are not welcome at the band’s shows. His initial divisive statement telling Trump supporters they were not welcome set off a wave of controversy.
In this since shared series of videos, Winter kept up that line of thought in the initial entries. When it first came to addressing the elephant in the room, he went on to say the following of the current commander commander-in-chief of the United States [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“The guy that you like, he’s just like me. He’s an entertainer. I’m sure you know this ’cause you guys are smart right? ‘The Apprentice‘, ‘Home Alone‘ — he was in ‘Home Alone‘, he’s an actor. Wardrobe, makeup, haircut. He’s playing a character in a false reality that he created because he knew you guys would like it, which is just like oh I don’t know, Sleep Token, Slipknot, any band really when you think about it, who use, like, masks.”
He later went on to state:
“What’s real is what’s in front of you. What’s not real is what is being projected to you from the richest man on the planet, who has all of the tools and help to deliver that, in a very slick manner.”
He also offered the following about his stance against Trump supporters:
“I think for myself. Why don’t you try that? Don’t follow an entertainer. Don’t follow me. Don’t do what I do. Don’t change your beliefs because of me. If I happen to believe the same way that you do, that’s cool. If I happen to believe different than you then, that’s cool too. And the reason I don’t want you at my shows is because you’re mean to the other people.
To the people that you marginalize and take advantage of. And then you want to walk in my show when they’re there and act like you’re cool. That’s fake. Well I put an album out called “Don’t You Fake It“, and you’re faking it. You’re coming to my shows and you’re acting like you’re cool with it. But you’re just taking the MAGA hat off before you come inside, so what I’m telling you to keep it on, keep your hat on.”
Further in the livestreamed chat, he relayed the following:
“I don’t hate people who like Donald Trump. I just ask you not to come to my shows, because I’m protecting my real fans. I have real fans. Every single one of you who have said something negative about me was never a real fan of mine. You definitely believe that lie yourself. You have sold yourself a story that is not true and I’m here to wake you up from that delusion. You were never my fan. You never liked my music, it was just cool and popular. Okay? But it’s not anymore. I’m not cool and popular anymore.
So you should go listen to some MAGA music. ‘Cause instead of being all pumped up and mad at me, you can go around blasting your MAGA music — Kid Rock — really loud and you can get hyped and you can be yourself at that show, alright? You belong at a Kid Rock concert… I heard he’s awesome live. I don’t think it would be a bad show, entertainment wise.”
He went on to add:
“The reason why I told you not to come here is because I’m protecting my real fans from you. I’m protecting my fans who are homosexual, I’m protecting my fans who have alternative views to yours. I’m protecting my fans from just your general assholeness and shitty attitudes and negative way at looking at everything.
I am protecting my real fans and there’s nothing you can do about it. Because you’re fake. And you’ve always been fake, and you’re gonna be fake. And I said, ‘don’t you fake it.’ So what happened is you missed the mark guys. You missed the mark way back in 2006 when I said ‘don’t you fake it.’ Don’t fake being a Christian around me, then I will get mad.”
The tone changed dramatically in the third video entry of the series however, when Winter went on to label his anti-Trump statements a ‘charade’, revealing his comments were part of a plot he concocted to engage people with his thoughts on what he labeled as his “obsession with fixing Christianity”. He went to elaborate on that:
“I realize that you all thought this was about Trump, and I think that it probably did turn into that at some point. I’m sure it’s because I said his name. But the reason why I said his name, which God knows, is not why you think. And everything that I’ve done since when is not what you think.
So if you’ve been suspicious because this seems out of character, you win. This is what it looks like when somebody is so desperate to reach the lost that they will literally do anything to be heard.
And like everybody has said, many, many, many, many times, I’m not a big deal. Nobody knows who I am. I don’t know how many times that was written, but it was a lot. I’m agreeing with you. One song, right? All of that, you’re telling the truth. So if I want to be heard, what do I have to do? I something drastic. That’s what happens. That’s how you make a splash out here in the wild USA.
Hmm, the truth is I was sent a message when I was asleep, and I woke up and I read it, and it was from a Christian, and it was really hurtful and painful, and that person is in my family. Sometimes they tag me photos and stuff. So I’m like, ‘Whoa’, you know, ‘whoa.’ And… they are a very, very pronounced Christian, like, it’s all the way, you know what I mean? So I just kind of lost it, man. But I didn’t want to put that person on blast, because it didn’t feel right, and also it wouldn’t make anybody listen to me that I wanted to help.
It would just be me being mad at one of my family members, you know, which is not a big deal. I can just get over that, right? But it got me thinking. It got me thinking about everything that’s wrong with Christians. I wasn’t actually thinking about Trump, but the image that they sent me was pro-Trump.
I’ll just say that it wasn’t even him, but, I mean, I’ll share it if you guys want to see it. It made me crazy, man, because I’ve been spending the last 10 years trying to tell all of my friends who are homosexual, or, let’s just say, they don’t fit what I’m going to start calling the ‘God box’ — which is a series of rules and limitations that we’ve put on our understanding of God.
I don’t have a picture of God. I’ve never seen him before, have you, Christian? I told you this was never about Trump. No, I mean, that’s what set me off, but everybody knows. I mean, I don’t like him or whatever, but come on, guys, just go back in time and watch my video. Something changed a couple days ago. This is what happened. I’m telling you the truth, like always.
So to catch you up, my relative sent me something. [It] Spun me out. I made the video. Right before I made it though I thought, you know, this is, this is maybe an opportunity, don’t want to miss it here. So this is how I feel…
Well, something interesting is going to happen when people watch this video. Most people won’t make it all the way to the end, right? They’re just going to jump to the comments. But if you make it to the end, as you can see, I’m breathing a lot and going slow for a reason, I want you to have to make it to the end. Right?
The end is this: unless you can show me a picture of God that I haven’t seen, unless you can show me his, like, rule book that he signed, unless you can show me anything, anything, other than a book that is, you know a book telling me what God is and who he loves and doesn’t love, and who goes to heaven and doesn’t go to heaven; That’s your God. That’s your small, weak God and your God box. That’s what I’ve been so mad about.
All the people that you’ve driven away from the beginning of time till now. So many people that God loved lived their whole life thinking either that something was wrong with them, or that God didn’t love them. Because the only God that they were exposed to was the God from your God box, the limited one. The one that only loves straight people, or to some of you, the one that only loves white people, or to some of you the only one that loves people who didn’t vote for Trump, which was the example I was using.
You can come to my show if you want, man. I just didn’t think that you would enjoy it. Genuinely. You know, just trying to be real with you. I didn’t know that you guys were gonna get THAT mad.”
He went on to address what he claimed was the heart of his problem, stating:
“I have a problem with mainstream Christianity and that problem is that they think know who God is, and they think they know what his rules are and all that. But what if I like to listen to Marilyn Manson? Does it mean I’m going to hell? I don’t think so man, not my God.
So I just wanted to take an opportunity to invite everybody on planet earth that has ever felt left out or left behind, that ever felt like Jesus or God didn’t care about them. I want you to know the truth. The truth is they don’t know who God is. They never have and they never will, neither will I.
So how can I tell you who he does and doesn’t forgive? How can I tell you what his rules are? How can I tell you anything about him? Really? I can’t, so I’m not gonna. I’m just gonna tell you that my relationship with him is amazing. It really is. Because of him I love everyone. Even you MAGAs. I do love you, equal, just as much as the non-MAGAs.
Collectively, the band also went on to walk back Winter‘s original divisive proclamation, offering:
“The SAUL TO PAUL 1/2/3 take away is this. GOD’s invitation of LOVE into its heavenly kingdom, is open to EVERYONE. Let’s stop trying to manipulate the Heavenly Fathers invitation. For a second didn’t it feel weird to not be invited to our events? Let it sink in guys. Obviously EVERYONE is invited to our events but leave the dividing topics out.”
It hasn’t been all love for the band and Winter however since the latter launched his divisive ruse over the weekend, as beef with Winter and Falling In Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke appears to have since come about.
