The singer for the alternative rock band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is looking to make the audiences at their shows great again by making their crowds free of outright MAGA supporters again. In a video posted on Instagram, frontman Ronnie Winter says supporters of Donald J. Trump should refrain from coming to their concerts, because, in his view, they won’t like the “acceptance” and “actual words of Jesus” that he believes they will encounter at the show.
“If you voted for Donald Trump, do not come to my shows — forever, not just like these four years,” Winter says at the conclusion of the video post. “Don’t come to my shows because you’re going to hear a lot of woke propaganda, and you’re going to hear the actual words of Jesus, and you’re going to see a lot of acceptance from all areas of life and races, and you’re just going to see a lot of harmony. OK? That’s not what you’re about, OK? Don’t come. Refunds are available. Forever, don’t come. Goodbye.”
In the video, the singer appears to have had enough of seeing ongoing flack from some quarters for his comments he made supporting progressive ideals in 2020, saying that any backlash from more conservative fans is not causing him to back down on what he believes in.
“Just doing a quick little PSA. I thought I was pretty clear about all this stuff in 2020,” Winter says at the outset of the video. “As you notice on my Instagram, I did not remove any of that stuff from the Stay Woke campaign, I guess you guys are calling it, from 2020. Look, man, the thing about being woke is: you’re awake, and once you’re awake, you can never go to sleep. And not only has nothing change but everything they said was going to happen, the woke people, has happened. You have done nothing but prove them right.”
He continues, “So, here it is again, in case somehow you missed it: Hi, I’m Ronnie Winter. I sing for the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and I actually follow what Jesus says. If you’re a Christian and you’re watching this and you voted for Donald Trump, shame on you. You are not allowed to come to my shows. I don’t want you there. Don’t come to my shows. It’s awesome that you love ‘Face Down’; it’s not for you. It’s not your song, OK? It is not your song.”
The song he references, “Face Down,” remains the group’s bestselling and most easily identifiable hit, certified 5-times-platinum as a single. It was included on the Florida group’s platinum debut album, “Don’t You Fake It,” in 2006. The band’s fifth and most recent album, “The Awakening,” came out in 2018.
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is in the middle of a North American tour, including a Warped Tour performance that was just streamed by Amazon Music. Apart from individual shows, the group’s next Warped Tour date will be July 26 in Long Beach.
It is not altogether surprising for those who have followed the band that the busting of stereotypes might occur when, Winter, who has a history of speaking up on racism and homophobia from a religious viewpoint, cites the true essence of Christianity as among the things he believes will be most offensive to Trump fans when they encounter it.
In a 2020 interview with Alternative Press, Winter said, “We have the recognition by some people —some, not a lot — in the Christian community that the LGBTQ community has been treated unfairly from the beginning. I love it. I don’t care what anybody thinks about me. The only person I want to look up to me is my son. And when he grows up, I want him to know that [hatred] is not what Jesus said. Not even in the realm of what he said… Over the years, things have been manipulated. Fear, racism and bigotry and all kinds of “isms,” which are meant to divide. They want to divide everybody. I want to unite everybody because we can actually do that. So when you see these movements, that unity, that unity is God. He wanted us all to come together. That was his message.”
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