Despite What ‘Clickbait-Junkie Dupes’ Said, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan Didn’t Actually Protest Florida’s Anti-Drag Law On Stage, He Explained

Lizzo and Yo La Tengo have used their recent shows to protest anti-drag laws passed around the country. However, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan wants to public to know that his recent onstage wardrobe had nothing to do with the political climate.

Following the band’s performance at the Welcome To Rockville Festival in Daytona Beach, Florida, dressed in full drag (prosthetic boobs included), fans thought Keenan was willing to go head-to-head with the state’s governor Ron DeSantis. However, the rocker told The Messager that he wasn’t.

“I’ve been cross-dressing since long before these clickbait-junkie dupes were out of diapers,” said Keenan.

He added, “It’s pretty crazy the technology and the prosthetics nowadays, how they’ve come along, and I just was considering bringing the look back, and that’s really all there is to it. I’m not a political fella — it had nothing to do with Florida. It’s amazing to me how every single thing you say or do is twisted and conformed into some fundamentalist far-right or far-left agenda.”

Even though he isn’t interested in participating in a protest, he did share his thoughts on the bans by saying, “I think limiting people’s access to anything is absurd,” he said. “Good parenting allows you to teach your kids how to be reasonable and reason and puzzle things out and decide for themselves what the f*ck they wanna see or not wanna see.”

He closed, “On occasion, I am a drag queen; I’ve been a drag queen. I’m casual, so the hardcore people are going to dismiss me as being a tourist. Solidarity with people who are not afraid to express themselves? Absolutely. People that want to express themselves in whatever f*cking way they want to express themselves, as long as they’re not physically directly hurting someone? Yeah, go for it. I’m all for ya.”

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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