Eagles of Death Metal singer Jesse Hughes recently took to social media to slam the Parkland, Florida students over their March for Our Lives protest.
In a series of now-deleted posts, Hughes called the student activists everything from “pathetic” to “haters of liberty,” according to The Daily Mail.
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As previously mentioned, Hughes’ posts were made in response to the March for Our Lives protest that took place all over the U.S. on Saturday, March 24 and was founded in the wake of the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“The Whitney Houston song about letting the children lead the way wasn’t actually had operating paradigm for life…..And when the truth don’t line up with your bulls— narrative just hold your breath and stamp your feet and refused to except it….,” Hughes wrote on one post.
“Then take multiple days off of school playing hooky at the expense of 16 of your classmates blood….!…. it might be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic and disgusting…,” he then added.
Interestingly, Hughes himself was the victim of an infamous mass shooting that took place in Paris a few years ago.
The Eagles of Death Metal were playing a show at the Bataclan Theatre on November 13, 2015 when a group of terrorist burst in and began shooting at concert goers.
That attack, which was part of a larger coordination of attacks around the city at that time, left 90 dead and many injured.
The band recounted their story of the attack and their return to the Bataclan stage in the 2017 documentary Nos Amis (Our Friends)
While the Parkland students may be getting criticism from Hughes, they’ve been receiving support from a number of other celebrities, such as Oscar-winner George Clooney.
In the letter, which was published in The Guardian, Clooney directly addressed a few of the students, including Emma Gonzalez, who has emerged as an outspoken leader of the group.
“Amal [Clooney] and I are 100% behind you and will be marching in DC on the 24th, but we both feel very strongly that this is your march. Your moment. Young people are taking it to the adults and that has been your most effective tool,” Clooney said.
“The fact that no adults will speak on the stage in DC is a powerful message to the world that if we can’t do something about gun violence then you will. The issue is going to be this, anyone you ask would feel proud to be interviewed by you but it’s so much more effective if it’s young people,” he continued.
“You could talk to a dozen kids like the young kids from Chicago and LA that Emma met with. You could take over the Guardian and make it tell the stories of children by children,” Clooney added. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to point to this moment and say it belongs to you. You certainly should do what you want but that would be my hope for you.”
Finally, Deadline reports, he concluded his letter by telling the students that he and his wife “stand behind you, in support of you, in gratitude to you,” and added, “You make me proud of my country again.”
