Pete Evick, the longtime guitarist for Poison frontman Bret Michaels, has delivered a completely unfiltered, aggressive message to fans who disavowed the singer after learning about his scheduled—and now officially canceled—participation in President Donald Trump’s “Freedom 250” concert series: “FUCK OFF.”
The Freedom 250 Mass Exodus
Michaels was originally booked to perform in Washington, D.C., as part of the Freedom 250 concert series, an entertainment lineup tied to the Great American State Fair. Running from June 25 to July 10, the event was established to formally commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States. However, almost immediately following the public announcement of the lineup, the participating artists were hit with swift and severe backlash from their respective fanbases, causing acts to drop off the bill like flies.
Faced with mounting pressure, Michaels released a formal statement announcing his official exit from the festival lineup:
“Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of,” Michaels explained. “Concerns have also been raised regarding the safety of my fans, band, crew, family and myself, including threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable. Because of that, I have made the difficult decision to step away from this performance.”
Michaels is far from the only artist to desert the event. A wave of prominent mainstream talent has collectively bowed out of the Freedom 250 series, including:
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Martina McBride
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Morris Day and the Time
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The Commodores
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Young MC
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Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli
Several of these departing artists have openly claimed they were completely duped by organizers into believing the concert series was a strictly non-partisan celebration. Despite the massive wave of cancellations, acts such as Vanilla Ice, Flo Rida, and C+C Music Factory remain scheduled to perform on the bill.
Pete Evick Defends Michaels’ Veteran Philanthropy
On Monday, a frustrated Pete Evick took to Facebook to publish a massive, detailed defense of Michaels. In the post, the guitarist heavily praised the singer’s decades-long track record of charitable endeavors for military veterans, blasting critics who tried to erase that legacy over a single unplayed gig.
“Bret [has] donated millions of dollars to veteran organizations. He was giving away tickets for veterans long before ‘Vet Tix,'” Evick wrote. “We have brought thousands of troops on the stage to honor them and have giant crowds scream for them. On a smaller note, I can’t count the times me and Bret stop at a traffic light and he gives money to a homeless veteran. All of this is actually ‘for veterans,’ all of this ‘helped veterans’ either emotionally or monetarily.”
Evick was quick to point out the hypocrisy of the outrage, emphasizing that the Trump-headlined show wasn’t even a charitable function to begin with.
“This particular concert was going to do ‘nothing’ for the veterans directly,” Evick argued. “The only people that actually lose out is us, we are now not getting paid. So why do all the actual things Bret has done for the veterans seemingly get erased for something that does nothing for them?”
“We See Your Posts”
Evick then focused his anger squarely on fair-weather fans, layout out a definitive reality check for individuals who chose to “literally turn [their] back on someone [they] loved 96 hours ago.”
The guitarist offered a scathing ultimatum to anyone who had ever personally benefited from the band’s generosity over their 21-year working relationship:
“If Bret or me have ever put a dime in your pocket, given you a free ticket, a free meet and greet, a free hotel room, a free flight, a photo pass, let you or your child perform on stage with us, gotten something signed for you or your charity, let you stand on the side of the stage, let you open for us, given you a shout out on social media, gone out of our way to call or FaceTime a sick or dying relative that we don’t even know, or if you are one of those people when I’ve gotten Bret to show up at one of my local gigs, and you were the first in line to be close to him who has now openly turned your back on him: FUCK OFF,” Evick fired off.
“We see you, we see your posts, FUCK OFF. I’m not saying you have to openly support him. But those that called us friends 4 days ago and have used and abused us and have now turned on us. FUCK OFF.”
Evick concluded his post by highlighting that the band’s historical ties to Donald Trump go back decades before he entered the political arena, noting they have previously played Trump’s golf courses for charity events and even performed at Trump’s daughter’s bachelorette party. He additionally told critics who were mocking their valid security concerns to go read up on media coverage surrounding Joe Rogan’s safety concerns before taking aim at Michaels.
