A Metal Festival in Florida Cancels Headliner and Multiple Acts Amid Controversy Shell Shock II, a metal festival scheduled to take place in Orlando, Florida, on October 19, has faced significant backlash and controversy after announcing Kyle Rittenhouse, a 21-year-old individual involved in a high-profile shooting case in 2020, as a special guest.
As a result, several acts, including headliner Evergreen Terrace, have pulled out of the festival. Rittenhouse gained notoriety in 2020 when he drove from his home state of Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin, amid unrest and joined a group of individuals claiming to be protecting businesses from the troubles. His involvement in the festival has sparked intense debate and criticism among attendees and bands.
In a statement... Evergreen Terrace explained that they made the difficult decision to cancel their appearance at the festival due to concerns over Rittenhouse's involvement. The band's statement read, "Unfortunately, we did not do our due diligence with this particular event. Even after they offered to pull Kyle from the event, we discovered several associated entities that we simply do not agree with.
As advocates for free speech, we are respectfully canceling the Shell Shock festival." Another band, Southpaw, also released a statement announcing their withdrawal from the festival. Southpaw stated that they knowingly accepted the festival's veteran-based theme, which they supported... but were unaware of Rittenhouse's involvement until after the fact.
The statement noted, "We knew going into this, that the festival was veteran-based, "which we support." But knew nothing of a particular individual being a main focus of support for the show until after accepting it." The crisis has led to the cancellation of the festival, "with organizers issuing a statement expressing regret over their decision." The statement did not address the controversy surrounding Rittenhouse's involvement but instead shifted the focus to the value of free speech.
This information was first published by Yahoo Entertainment.
A metal festival in Florida, USA, has lost its headliner and multiple other acts after announcing Kyle Rittenhouse as a special guest. Shell Shock II is scheduled to take place in Orlando on October 19. But headliner Evergreen Terrace have pulled out after organisers announced 21-year-old Rittenhouse's involvement as a VIP guest.
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