Iconic musician John Mellencamp – who is not Jewish – spoke out against antisemitism this weekend while inducting his longtime friend and attorney Allen Grubman into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, who received the Ahmet Ertegun Award, Billboard reported.
The 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which took place in Los Angeles, is set to air November 19 on HBO.
“Allen is Jewish,” Mellencamp noted before welcoming Grubman to the stage. “I bring that up for one reason: I’m a gentile, and my life has been enriched by countless Jewish people.
“I cannot tell you how f—ing important it is to speak out if you’re an artist, against antisemitism,” he went on.
“I don’t give a f—k, I don’t care [what you are]. Here’s the trick: Silence is complicity. I’m standing here tonight loudly and proudly with Allen, his family and all of my Jewish friends and all of the Jewish people in the world,” he added. “F—k antisemitism, and f—k anybody who says anything in that matter.”
Mellencamp’s fierce defense of Jewish people comes in the face of antisemitism expressed by rapper Kanye West and NBA star basketball player Kyrie Irving over the past several weeks.
