Amity Affliction Singer Blasts Fan for Wearing Donald Trump Shirt

The worlds of politics and music collided over the weekend in Las Vegas as AltPress reports The Amity Affliction vocalist Joel Birch called out an crowd member who was sporting a Donald Trump jersey at their gig at the Brooklyn Bowl. While no video of the incident is available, Birch later offered a series of tweets explaining his decision to address this person.

"What I said tonight was much more balanced than I could have been, and wanted to be. Just like I wouldn’t wear an atheist tee to church, I expect people to exercise a certain decorum when attending our shows. Music has forever been a safe haven for me, and I want our shows to be a safe haven for others. These shows are no different to church," says Birch. "We sing together, we pour our hearts out, we use it as an escape from the reality of our everyday lives, and it brings us together."

He continued, "Wearing a jersey that you KNOW will be divisive is exactly the opposite of what I stand for as a person. I do not respect your 'beliefs.' I do not feel like you have the right to make others uncomfortable by wearing a jersey that may as well be branded with a swastika. I will not remain silent if you come to our shows dressed like that. You can believe whatever you want to believe while you are outside the venue, but don’t you DARE bring your negative energy inside to intimidate and cause discomfort to others. I wish you didn’t like our band. I wish you hadn’t come to the show. I wish you could see the hurt you inflict on those around you from ethnic backgrounds, people of colour, Latinos, Hispanics, cholos and open minded people who do not espouse your racist garbage. I love Amity fans. They give us this unique and beautiful opportunity to play music, but I WILL NOT stand for people jeopardizing the happiness of others, and ruining their experience at one of our shows. To put it simply, you are not welcome."

After Birch's tweets, the audience member responded online, stating, "This loser. All because I wore a trump jersey. @JoelDTD grow up you libtard." Birch responded, "This is the guy. As you can see, a level headed speech followed by a level headed tweet lands me being called a loser, asshole and libtard. This is why you’re not worth time. I won’t even bother blocking you, as you’re so determined to argue that you make new accounts."

Silent Planet, who were also on the bill, revealed that they also ran into issues with the audience member. Garrett Russell tweeted, "Tonight a dude sporting a Trump tee got pissed about our 'heal us' shirt and start screaming in anger about us being 'cucks' which kinda made my night. Glad we brought those back. I think he got pissed about a rad speech that @JoelDTD gave onstage. So hey let’s rock. Thanks Vegas."

The Amity Affliction are currently touring with Senses Fail, Belmont and Silent Planet. See the remaining dates of the run below. Weigh in on the clothing controversy via the comments for this post.

The Amity Affliction / Senses Fail / Belmont / Silent Planet

Jan. 8 – Dallas, Texas @ Gas Monkey Live!
Jan. 9 – Houston, Texas @ House Of Blues
Jan. 11 – New Orleans, La. @ The Joy Theater
Jan. 12 – Orlando, Fla. @ House Of Blues
Jan. 13 – Tampa, Fla. @ The Orpheum
Jan. 15 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Masquerade
Jan. 16 – Charlotte, N.C. @ The Underground
Jan. 18 – Baltimore, Md. @ Rams Head Live
Jan. 19 – Worcester, Mass. @ The Palladium
Jan. 20 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Franklin Music Hall
Jan. 22 – New York, N.Y. @ Playstation Theater
Jan. 24 – Montreal, Quebec @ Club Soda
Jan. 25 – Toronto, Ontario @ Phoenix Theatre
Jan. 26 – Detroit, Mich. @ Majestic Theatre
Jan. 27 – Cleveland, Ohio @ House Of Blues
Jan. 29 – St. Louis, Mo. @ Delmar Hall
Jan. 30 – Chicago, Ill. @ Concord Music Hall
Feb. 1 – Denver, Colo. @ Summit
Feb. 2 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Complex
Feb. 4 – Seattle, Wash. @ The Showbox
Feb. 5 – Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom
Feb. 7 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Ace Of Spaces
Feb. 8 – Santa Cruz, Calif. @ The Catalyst
Feb. 9 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Regent