It’s a great day to believe a lie. Freedom fighter Travis Tritt made a pair of appearances on right-wing talk shows this week after publicly declaring that he would not perform concerts in venues that require Covid-19 vaccination, masks or even testing.
Naturally, he cited fellow anti-lockdown crusader Eric Clapton for lighting the path forward. Clapton said he suffered hand paralysis after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine and went on to fund an anti-vaxx band in the U.K.
“When Eric Clapton made the statement about the freedoms being infringed upon, that really resonated with me,” Tritt said on conservative talker Steven Crowder’s Louder With Crowder Internet show. “Aside from the personal effects that he had had from getting the vaccine, I just agreed from a philosophical standpoint about we have to preserve our freedoms. We’ve never been in a situation, that I know of, in this country where the government has been allowed to force you to take medicine that you may or may not need.”
Except of course when you go to public school as a child and need to be vaccinated against various infectious diseases. In Tritt’s native Georgia, for example, children must receive the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine, along with the meningococcal meningitis vaccine.
On Tucker Carlson’s show Tuesday night, Tritt said that music venue mandates requiring audiences show proof of vaccination against the highly infectious novel coronavirus aren’t about keeping fans alive, but about shaming those who “they don’t feel are ‘clean enough.’”
“This is not about following the science or trying to look out for the safety of the people there,” Tritt said. “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.”
Carlson swooned at Tritt’s words, as if they were delivered by some Roman orator and not the singer of “Where Corn Don’t Grow.” “Man, that’s so nicely put,” Carlson raved.
Tritt said the plight of unvaccinated concertgoers is “heartbreaking” for him to watch: “They’re finally getting a chance to [go to concerts again] and now they’re being turned away for some unexplained reason.”
But there should be little surprise at the gate. In order to buy a ticket at a venue that enforces Covid protocols on Ticketmaster — where tickets for many of Tritt’s concerts are being sold — customers have to first agree to “health check” disclaimer before selecting their seat.
On Monday, Tritt canceled four scheduled concerts in Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, and Kentucky at venues that enforce Covid-19 safety protocols. Clapton, meanwhile, recently completed a U.S. tour, including a show in New Orleans at a venue that required proof of vaccination or a negative test.