John Mellencamp has issued a response to a viral video of the singer and songwriter walking off stage mid-performance after being heckled by audience members.
Footage of Mellencamp's March Toledo performance surfaced across social media on Monday. In the video, Mellencamp, 72, recounts a story in which a woman called him a "smart aleck." While telling the story, one audience member shouting from the crowd told Mellencamp to "play some music." The heckler was met with frustration from the crowd.
“What do you think I’ve been doing, you c---sucker?’” Mellencamp asked the heckler as the crowd exploded with laughter and applause.
Mellencamp paused as the audience settled before saying, "Here's the thing, man. You don't know me."
"You don't f---ing know me," he repeated before instructing a performance assistant named Joe to find the heckler and bring him backstage after the show.
Mellencamp apologized for his interruption and attempted to continue his story but was once again heckled by another fan shouting at the performer to play "Authority Song."
“Guys, I can stop this show right now and just go home," a frustrated Mellencamp told the audience.
Members of the audience continued shouting.
"Tell you what I’m going to do," he continued. "Since you’ve been so wonderful, I’m going to cut about ten songs out of the show."
Mellencamp then performed several lines from "Jack & Diane," though abruptly stopped and announced the show was over before leaving the stage.
The performer discussed the incident with The Washington Post, saying he expected audiences to conduct themselves with polite behavior, "the same way you would at a Broadway show."
“My shows are not really concerts anymore,” Mellencamp said. “They’re performances, and there’s a difference between a performance and a concert.”
Mellencamp candidly acknowledged, "I'm not for everyone anymore. I'm just not."
"If you want to come and scream and yell and get drunk, don’t come to my show," he added.
Some reports of Mellencamp's Toledo performance claim the incident began after the performer introduced his song "The Eyes of Portland" by discussing homelessness in America. Mellencamp reportedly went on to tell a story about a homeless woman he met while in Portland, according to the Toledo Blade.
Other reports claim without evidence that Mellencamp was discussing President Joe Biden during his performance, though others have claimed he was referring to his dying grandmother.
