John Mellencamp has called out an audience member for heckling at one of his recent shows, and urged them to meet him after the show.
The American singer-songwriter has had issues with hecklers in the past – last March he threatened to end his show in Texas after it happened, and then again in Cleveland two months later.
Now, the same thing happened again at his show in Toldeo on Sunday (March 17), resulting in Mellencamp cutting the set short and encouraging the audience member to meet him outside the venue.
According to footage shared by an audience member on TikTok – the 72-year-old singer is seen sharing an anecdote with his crowd between songs, however, after a few seconds he is interrupted by a fan urging him to “play some music”.
“What do you think I’ve been doing, you cocksucker?” Mellencamp replied. “Here’s the thing, man. You don’t know me. You don’t fucking know me.
“Hey Joe, find this guy and let me see him after the show,” he added, going on to continue with his anecdote before being interrupted again.
@papashoe ♬ original sound – Papa Shoe
“Guys, I can stop this show right now and just go home… I tell you what I’m going to do. Since you’ve been so wonderful, I’m going to cut about 10 songs out of the show,” he said.
From there, he began to play the ‘Jack & Diane’ solo, before deciding: “Y’know what? Show’s over.” Watch the footage above.
As reported by Out Of The Blue (via Stereogum), the singer-songwriter left the stage and the house lights went up. He eventually returned to the stage and performed a few more songs to close off the night.
The divisive set in Toldeo over the weekend also comes just a few months after Mellencamp made headlines at the end of 2023 by explaining why he thinks rappers should not use the N-word in their songs.
Recalling his collaboration with the Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, Mellencamp said: “Me and Chuck D did a song 20 years ago. We were talking about the N-word. We were talking about how it’s not supposed to be used…” he said
“That’s what I have against – not against, but why I’m not a big fan of rap music. You guys are selling out what the people stood up for and fought for, and you’re making money off of it selling it to white kids? I don’t like it.”