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Punk band loses sponsor, festival spot after joke about Vegas shooting victims

by Aris Folley - 06/01/18 11:19 AM ET

Punk rock band NOFX lost a sponsorship and was pulled from headlining a festival in Ohio after making “insensitive” jokes about victims of a mass shooting in Las Vegas.

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Members of NOFX made the remark on Sunday while appearing at the Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival in Vegas.

“I guess you’re only getting shot in Vegas if you’re in a country band,” one of the band’s members told the audience at the end of a song, according to a video released by host of the Las Vegas morning radio show “Dave and Mahoney.”

NOFX thought it would be “hilarious” to joke about the October 1 shootings while on stage in Las Vegas. They said “at least they were country fans and not punk rock fans”. This is disgusting and callous. We will never support anything involving this band ever again. pic.twitter.com/am3R8QJIE6

— Dave and Mahoney (@DaveAndMahoney) May 30, 2018

“I mean, that sucked,” NOFX lead singer Fat Mike, whose real name is Michael Burkett, added. “At least they were country fans and not punk rock fans.”

Members of the crowd groaned in disapproval of the members’ offensive remarks, but Burkett fired back, saying, “You were all thinking it.”

Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured more than 500 more when he opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in October 2017.

Stone Brewing Co., one of the sponsors for the Rock Bowling & Music Festival in Vegas, severed its ties with the veteran punk band following the crude remarks.

Stone Brewing released a statement obtained by ABC News Wednesday, saying they “are aware of NOFX’s insensitive and indefensible statements this past weekend. As a result, we are severing all our ties with NOFX, including festival sponsorship and the production of our collaboration beer.”

“Nevertheless, to try our best to make some good come out of these awful comments, we have decided that we will donate all profits of the beer to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation, which provides post Route 91 trauma counseling for officers and other first responders alongside other safety programs, training and funding.”

“Punk rock is cool. These callous comments were the furthest thing from it,” the statement continued.

NOFX has also been cut from the lineup of the inaugural Camp Punk in Drublic Festival in Ohio, which they had organized, according to Consequence of Sound.

Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival organizers Mark Stern and Shawn Stern also apologized in a statement on Twitter Wednesday.

“In light of NOFX’s comments during their performance at the Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival, we would like to offer a formal apology to those in attendance, the city of Las Vegas, the victims and the families of 10/1,” the statement read.

pic.twitter.com/lkzc7d9nxk

— Punk Rock Bowling (@PunkRockBowling) May 30, 2018

The band on Thursday apologized for the “insensitive” remarks on its official Twitter page.

“I can’t sleep, no one in my band can. What we said in Vegas was shitty and insensitive and we are all embarrassed by our remarks. So we decided we will all get together to discuss and write an in-depth, sincere and honest apology because that’s what the people we offended and hurt deserve,” the statement read.