Whenever you go to a Marilyn Manson gig, you always know that something crazy is going to happen. Whether he's ironing a Nazi flag, getting crushed by a giant crucifix, or in the words of one particular police report, "jacking off with a strap-on dildo and urinating on the crowd", you can pretty much bet your money on the fact that the American singer will put on a show that will win its place in your memory for a long time coming.
The latest move the star - original name, Brian Hugh Warner - has made during a performance? Recently, he forced one man to strip off his t-shirt on stage in a bizarre moment that has divided fans and received hundreds of thousands of views online.
The moment occurred during Manson’s recent performance at the Spanish staging of Download Festival in Madrid on June 28, where he played just before headliner band Avenged Sevenfold. According to a post on Reddit, the Beautiful People singer was growing irritated with the crowd because they had been "booing him" for "30 minutes". The Redditor, who goes by the name of J-888 also claims that "almost everyone was there just because Avenged Sevenfold [were] next."
Inviting fans onto the stage, Manson stopped one man from giving him a hug and seemingly became even more irritated when he noticed that the audience member in question was wearing an Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt. "You should take your shirt off," he tells him in the video, also making movements with his hands to suggest the man remove his top.
"It's not my band, it's a different band," Manson continues and persists in pressurising the unidentified audience member, telling him that he can wear the flag that he is carrying instead. After a few moments of confusion, the man eventually consents and takes his t-shirt off, putting the flag over him and putting his hands up as the crowd cheers.
The moment has split commentators online, some of whom claim that the star was out of line to force the man to strip in front of the large audience. "Publicly shaming a preteen is not a mature way to deal with getting your feelings hurt," wrote a Redditor named 'stucknmove'.
However, others have defended Manson's actions, with the Redditor who claimed to be there stating that the man who went on stage didn't know the lyrics and "payed for it". J-888 wrote: "After 30 minutes of "fans" boo-ing at Manson (almost everyone was there just because A7X was next), that dude asked to go on stage. The fact that he didnt knew the lyrics, shows he should have let someone else go on stage instead. So manson got pissed and that dude "payed" for it. Source: I was there. Awesome show on his side, awful crowd" [sic].
He was supported by other Redditors, who questioned why the mystery Avenged Sevenfold fan chose to go up onstage when he was clearly not a fan of Manson's music. "If he didn't even like MM, why the hell would he even go up on the stage," wrote twiggynameless. "Is it cool to go up on a big artists/bands stage? of course. Do you do it and totally make an ass out of yourself? No."
So, what do you make of Manson's latest move? Whether you believe he's in the right or the wrong, I know I wouldn't have wanted to be the person forced to strip onstage in front of thousands.
