In the it had to happen sooner or later category, GWAR‘s cartoonish onstage antics over the weekend caught the attention (and subsequent ire) of MAGA. The group’s depictions of onstage sacrifices of Tesla, etc. CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump during their live set at ‘Riot Fest‘ in Chicago, IL has begun making headlines.
The outrage began after a somewhat suspect X account registered in June of 2012 dubbed @hottakekaren began targeting the band. Curiously, that account had no other post history presently available publicly.
Several posts decrying the band for their cartoonish onstage executions onstage were shared by the aforementioned account, including this clip depicting Donald Trump being disemboweled and this footage depicting Elon Musk being beheaded.
Saw a friend’s video from Riot Fest—GWAR mock-beheaded Elon Musk on stage. That’s not edgy, it’s grotesque and reckless and normalizes violence against a real person. This is not okay. Riot Fest and GWAR crossed a major line. #RiotFest #GWAR #ElonMusk @RiotFest @gwar @elonmusk @X pic.twitter.com/ngr0GRVbP9
— karen (@hottakekaren) September 20, 2025
The subsequent outrage, which admittedly may have well been manufactured in part by the band’s camp themselves, has since been reverberating through conservative circles since, including this story from the NY Post and Libs Of TikTok, who posted:
Performers at Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois, simulated the bloody disemboweling of President Trump on stage while people cheered.This is incitement. They know exactly what they’re doing.Democrats can’t help themselves. They love promoting violence. pic.twitter.com/XHrxM7RucQ
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 22, 2025
Pressed for comment over the uproar and potentially ‘normalizing violence’ by the NY Post, GWAR‘s camp stated:
“Normalizing violence? Humans don’t need GWAR for that. There is nothing normal about the Looney Toon violence acted out on a GWAR stage. GWAR is absurdist spectacle. GWAR is to violence what the New York Post is to journalism. Ridiculous.”
Organizers for ‘Riot Fest‘ have fired back on X amid outcry as well, stating:
lol the dumbest people on the internet are mad again. pic.twitter.com/mdcbClCwF7
— Riot Fest (@RiotFest) September 22, 2025
BREAKING NEWS: Some dumb fucking loser won’t be going to Riot Fest ever again. https://t.co/GrcyXXWiAX
— Riot Fest (@RiotFest) September 22, 2025
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA https://t.co/M4Ftw43xrm
— Riot Fest (@RiotFest) September 22, 2025
GWAR have of course been depicting sacrifices of world leaders, politicians, celebrities and religious icons from all schools of thought and political affiliations onstage for decades now, with decades of U.S. Presidents from both major parties having met their untimely end onstage on a nightly basis.
While the comedic thrash metal outfit have managed to operate without too much public outrage, the recent assassination of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk has changed the discourse dramatically when it comes to depiction of violence, especially those holding well-documented political associations.
