Skillet frontman John Cooper says he tries to keep his political opinions off the stage, even though he’s comfortable discussing faith and politics in other settings. He explained his thinking in an appearance on OutKick’s “Tomi Lahren is Fearless.”
Asked by host Tomi Lahren whether there are risks to speaking openly about faith and politics, Cooper said the risks aren’t evenly distributed depending on which side of the political spectrum an artist lands on.
“Yeah, definitely. I would say there’s not as much of a risk if you’re on the left because you will get praised by all of the powers that be,” Cooper said. “Now, of course, you’re still risking something — there’s going to be some fans that don’t like it, so I don’t want to say they’re not risking anything. That’s actually not fair, but you will get opportunities from some of the institutional powers.”
Even so, Cooper said he understands why fans get frustrated when performers turn concerts into political speeches.
“I agree with people when they’re like, I don’t want to see some actor come up and yell at me about Iran or whatever they’re on about; I don’t even know if they even know what they’re talking about, you know?”
Lahren picked up on the type of artist he meant, naming Bruce Springsteen. Both agreed that Springsteen’s habit of delivering political commentary mid-concert has grown tiresome for some fans.
“It just gets a little bit exhausting,” Cooper said. He referenced a lyric from Staind frontman Aaron Lewis’ 2021 song “Am I The Only One,” in which Lewis sings about how he “quits singin’ along/Every time they play a Springsteen song.”
Still, Cooper was careful to separate his critique of the practice from his respect for the artist. He called Springsteen “one of the greatest songwriters, certainly, of (his) generation” and said he still listens to his music.
“But I’m like, ‘I don’t want people to feel that way about me.’ I know some people do, but I’m trying to stay in my lane as best as I can,” Cooper said.
For Cooper, the takeaway is that artists have a choice: lean into political commentary or keep the focus on the music. He’s chosen the latter.
