Evanston SPACE Cancels Michelle Shocked Show Following Anti-Gay Rant

Evanston’s SPACE has canceled folk singer Michelle Shocked’s May 5 performance at the venue following reports of her anti-gay rant during a San Francisco show. 

“After speaking with the promoter of that show about the nature of the remarks, it’s clear that this is no longer a show we’re willing to put our name on,” Evanston SPACE wrote on its Facebook page. 

The born-again Christian reportedly launched into an anti-gay rant during a show at Yoshi’s on Sunday night and many people in the audience took to Twitter to live tweet the hateful portions of her performance, Shocked reportedly ended her rant with “You can go on Twitter and say, ‘Michelle Shocked says God hates (anti-gay slur),’” Music Mix reported. 

SPACE is not the only one canceling Shocked’s show; nine other venues have also canceled the singer’s shows, the Chicago Tribune reported. 

Many Facebook users thanked SPACE for cancelling the show. 

“You guys are awesome. Thanks for standing up as a business against negativity and hate. I wish there were more businesses out there like you guys,” wrote Natasha Nesterowicz. 

“Thanks for standing up for your audience and its sense of moral justice that includes ALL people!!” wrote Randy Creath. 

“I have a great amount of respect for all of you who run SPACE, Stuart, Dave, everyone there...I have even more respect for you now. It takes guts to stand up for what you believe in, and, we, as your customers, have your back!” wrote Tim Downing. 

What do you think of SPACE’s decision to cancel Shocked’s May 5 show?