Country music superstar Travis Tritt said Tuesday that he won’t play at concert venues with mask or COVID-19 mandates because the policy is “trying to divide people and trying to shame people.”
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Tritt first announced his decision on his website Monday.
“This is not about following the science or trying to look out for the safety of the people there,” Tritt told Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” (RELATED: ‘I’m So Sick of This Bullsh*t,’ Megyn Kelly Slams Biden, Fauci Over Vaccine And Mask Mandates)
“This is about something else. This is trying to divide people. This is trying to shame people. This is trying to basically discriminate against people that they don’t feel are clean enough to be a part of enjoying a concert like that,” Tritt continued. “I felt like I had to stand up for freedom … Freedom for all of those people to be able to go out and do what they enjoy doing and enjoy a concert without being harassed.”
Fox News Host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson called Tritt “a credit to country music.”
Tritt denied his concerts could in any way be described as “super-spreaders” and said that “the actual numbers don’t reflect that at all. As a matter of fact, quite the opposite.”
“In most of these areas, we’ve seen the COVID numbers actually drop dramatically,” Tritt said, noting that he was shocked to learn that a lot of his concerts had vaccine and mask mandates placed on them “not by the state, not by the local city government, not by the local health department and municipalities, but by the actual promoters/venue owners.”
The musician said he received “a ton of messages” from disappointed fans who “have been shut out from getting a chance to go see concerts for over a year.”
“I know these people. These are hardworking Americans that just want to take care of their families, put food on the table for their families, put a roof over their head and occasionally go out and experience a concert, you know, enjoy themselves, forget about all their troubles for a little while,” Tritt said. (RELATED: Superstar Comedian Jim Breuer Says He Won’t Perform At Theaters That Require Vaccination Proof)
Families protest any potential mask mandates before the Hillsborough County Schools Board meeting held at the district office on July 27, 2021, in Tampa, Florida. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that those who are vaccinated wear masks indoors, including students returning to school. (Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
Tritt’s decision has not been echoed by a host of other musical acts, although Eric Clapton has also indicated that he plans to cancel concerts at venues that demand proof of vaccination.
A Monmouth University poll released in mid-September found a majority of Americans supported President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate that requires federal employees to receive the vaccine or get weekly testing to stay employed. The poll was conducted from Sept. 9 to Sept. 13 with 802 adults age 18 and older. Approximately 63% of those polled approved of the requirement for health care workers and 58% agreed that the vaccine should be mandated for federal workers as well.