NOFX at Irving Plaza
NOFX at Irving Plaza in 2016 (more by Mathieu Bredeau)

NOFX issue apology for Vegas comments: "We won’t blame it on drugs or alcohol or Ambien"

After losing their beer sponsor in the wake of the controversial comments they made on stage about the Route 91 Harvest Music Fest shooting, NOFX said the comments were “shitty and insensitive” and that they planned to write an “in depth, sincere, and honest apology.” That apology is now posted. It reads in part, “We won’t blame it on drugs or alcohol or Ambien. That’s too easy. NOFX said it, and we own it. We made a tasteless joke. But to be clear, NOFX does not condone violence against ANY group of people, period!” Here’s the full statement:

There’s no place here to backpedal. What NOFX said in Vegas was shameful. We crossed the line of civility. We can’t write songs about how people in this world need to be more decent, when we were clearly being indecent. Las Vegas has always been a welcoming city to our band, and to make light of the tragedy that occurred there was egregious.

All members of the band would like to sincerely apologize to anyone who experienced loss from the Vegas shooting 8 months ago, and to anyone who was at our show who lost a loved one or a friend, or who had to witness the incredibly senseless violence that night.

We were asked why we didn’t release an immediate apology. Well, we didn’t feel that we could write a sincere apology without reflecting on the actual damage we had done. No press agent was gonna write this for us. That’s why we have struggled with this for the past few days.

We didn’t plan or intend on saying anything so insensitive. It was off the cuff, but just as hurtful. We won’t blame it on drugs or alcohol or Ambien. That’s too easy. NOFX said it, and we own it. We made a tasteless joke. But to be clear, NOFX does not condone violence against ANY group of people, period!

As sincere as we’ve ever been,
NOFX

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