Aaron Lewis , the former frontman for the rock band Staind, came under fire after his comments at a South Texas solo show.
Rob Grabowski
Invision/Associated Press
Aaron Lewis, the former lead singer for the rock group Staind, performed at a solo show Saturday in South Texas, and some people think he stuck his boot in his mouth.
See, Lewis went solo around 2010 and switched genres to country with his 2011 release “Town Line,” according to Reno.com.
He said the genre change was in part to get away from the dark memories associated with his rock lyrics, according to the website.
At Saturday’s show in Pharr, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, Lewis got a bit exasperated when he couldn’t get the crowd at the Pharr Events Center to quiet down, the McAllen Monitor reported.
“Tell them in Spanish,” a fan shouted, according to the newspaper.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to speak Spanish,” Lewis said in response, according to the San Antonio Express News. “I’m American.”
“Welcome to Texas!” one fan can be heard screaming in the video.
Minutes later, Lewis, still unable to quiet the crowd, leans into the mic and says, “Thank you very much. Have a great night.”
That, and a second, louder chorus of boos, brought an abrupt end to the show, according to the San Antonio Current.
Pharr is a city of about 80,000 residents along a narrow stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border that includes the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, a port of entry.
Many on social media complained that Lewis treated the crowd from the border town, where the population is 94 percent Hispanic according to the U.S. Census, disrespectfully.
aaron lewis just told a concert full of valley people that he doesn’t speak spanish because he’s american. total tool, yet another disappointing white man
Trump and Congressional Democrats have until Feb. 15 to come to an agreement about funding for Trump’s proposed wall along the Mexico border. If no agreement is reached, the federal government could go back into partial shutdown, but Trump has dangled the possibility that he will declare a national emergency along the southern border in order to reroute funding from other government agencies into border security.
This story was originally published February 4, 2019 at 3:05 PM.
Matt is an award-winning real time reporter and a University of Texas at Austin graduate who’s been based at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram since 2011. His regional focus is Texas, and that makes sense. He’s only lived there his whole life.
