UPDATE JUNE 22: NOFX band member Fat Mike claims the group has been banned from playing big venues in the United States.
“NOFX has effectively been banned in our own country,” he said. “This is not our choice, but it is our reality. We are very sorry to our fans, especially the ones in Austin."
Though upset, Mike took accountability for the band's poor judgment and the ensuing repercussions. "We made a mistake, we apologized, and we gotta suffer the consequences," he said. "Maybe it ain’t fair, but whoever said life was?”
READ BIG MIKE'S FULL INSTAGRAM STATEMENT
He says the group will continue to play shows in Mexico, Europe, and Canada while awaiting forgiveness in the United States.
“For now, we are playing in Europe, Mexico, and Canada. I’m trying my best to bring it back to the US but a lot of people don’t want it to happen.”
UPDATE JUNE 3: Days after their controversial remarks at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas, NOFX released a longer apology on their social media pages.
You can read the full statement below:
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
UPDATE 10 A.M. MAY 31: NOFX released a statement on Instagram apologizing for the comments.
"I can’t sleep, no one in my band can. What we said in Vegas was s----- and insensitive and we are all embarrassed by our remarks. So we decided we will all get together to discuss and write an in depth, sincere, and honest apology because that’s what the people we offended and hurt deserve."
UPDATE 6 A.M. MAY 31: A California beer company has decided to pull its sponsorship of the NOFX's current tour after they joked about last year's mass shooting in Las Vegas that claimed 58 lives and injured hundreds more.
The joke was made during the band's performance on May 27 during the popular Punk Rock Bowling music festival.
In addition, the beer company says that it will be making a donation to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation.
NOFX has not made a comment about the incident. The band and its lead singer, "Fat Mike," is well known for making controversial statements.
We at Stone Brewing are aware of NOFX’s insensitive and indefensible statements this past weekend. As a result, we are severing all our ties with NOFX, including festival sponsorship and the production of our collaboration beer.
We respect punk rock, and the DIY ethos for which it stands. To us, it means standing up for things you believe in, and fearlessly committing to what's right.
And it is for that reason that Stone Brewing is immediately disassociating ourselves from the band NOFX. Stone had a sponsorship deal for this summer’s Punk In Drublic festivals. Emphasis “had.” That sponsorship is now canceled.
At this moment, there is Stone & NOFX Punk In Drublic Hoppy Lager in the marketplace that was brewed by Stone Brewing. It’s done already. Know that NOFX does not earn any money from the sale of the beer.
Nevertheless, to try our best to make some good come out of these awful comments, we have decided that we will donate all profits of the beer to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation, which provides post Route 91 trauma counseling for officers and other first responders alongside other
safety programs, training and funding.We have cancelled any future rebrews of this beer. We apologize to the fans of the beer itself, but know that we make this decision out of respect to all. Punk rock is cool. These callous comments were the furthest thing from it.
ORIGINAL STORY
Many people are upset with the band NOFX for a joke made during a performance in Las Vegas on Sunday.
It happened during the Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival in Downtown Las Vegas, according to TMZ.
After one of the band's song, Fat Mike said, "We played a song about Muslims and we didn't get shot. Hooray."
At that point, one of the band's members jumped in with "I guess you only get shot in Vegas if you are in a country band."
NOFX is well known for its controversial songs and statements.
RELATED: The band's 10 most controversial moments
The founders of the popular music festival sent the following statement to 13 Action News:
In light of NOFX's comments during their performance at the Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival, we would like to offer a formal apology to those in attendance, the City of Las Vegas, the victims, and the families of 10/1.
Las Vegas is home to the Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival, and we do not condone the statements made from our stage on Sunday night. We take the safety of our festival goers seriously and want to relay that, there is nothing funny about people being shot and murdered, ever.
It didn't end there though. Another comment was made that indicated it was a good thing that it was country music fans that were shot and not punk rock fans. Boos could be heard coming from the crowd and some people tweeted about what happened.
@PunkRockBowling you gave an awesome speech about tolerance and unity and resisting division yet your headliner NOFX talking and singing about how Muslims bomb shit and are the worst? Wtf is up w that?
— Lareesa (@blackflaghag) May 28, 2018
58 people were killed during the Route 91 country music festival on Oct. 1, 2017. Hundreds of more people were injured. The shooter has been identified as Stephen Paddock. He opened fire on the crowd from the 32 floor of Mandalay Bay.
Before the shooting, Paddock checked out the location of Life is Beautiful, which is held in Downtown Las Vegas. He may have been planning to carry out a mass shooting during that music festival but changed his mind.
