Folk singer Michelle Shocked on
Wednesday denied accusations that she made anti-gay comments during
an appearance Sunday in San Francisco.
The incident led to an outcry and the
cancellation of most of Shocked's U.S. tour.
“I do not, nor have I ever, said or
believe that God hates homosexuals (or anyone else),” Shocked said
in a statement given to CNN. “I said that some of His followers
believe that. [I was] predicting the absurd way my description of,
my apology for, the intolerant would no doubt be misinterpreted. The
show was all music, and the audience tweets said they enjoyed it. The
commentary came about ten minutes later, in the encore. I'm very
sorry: I don't always express myself as clearly as I should. But
don't believe everything you read on Facebook or Twitter. My view of
homosexuality has changed not one iota. I judge not. And my statement
equating repeal of Prop 8 with the coming of the End Times was
neither literal nor ironic: it was a description of how some folks –
not me – feel about gay marriage.”
“I am damn sorry. If I could repeat
the evening, I would make a clearer distinction between a set of
beliefs I abhor, and my human sympathy for the folks who hold them.”
But audio from the concert that
surfaced on Wednesday raised more eyebrows and appears to contradict
Shocked's version of the events.
“I was at a prayer meeting
yesterday,” she's
heard saying in the audio. “And you have to appreciate how
scared, how scared people on that side of the equation are. I mean,
from their vantage point, and I really shouldn't say their, because
it's mine too, we are nearly at the end of time.”
“And from our vantage point, we're
gonna be, uhhh, I think maybe Chinese water torture is gonna be the
means, the method – once Prop 8 gets instated and once preachers
are held at gunpoint and forced to marry the homosexuals. I'm pretty
sure that that will be the signal for Jesus to come on back. You
said you wanted reality. … If someone would be so gracious as to
please tweet out, 'Michelle Shocked just said from stage, 'God hates
faggots.' Would you do it now.”