In a subsequent response to his original reaction video regarding Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s performance of the hit “WAP” at the 2021 Grammy Awards, Skillet singer John Cooper clarified his comments by connecting the redefinition of good and evil in society, Adolf Hitler and the hypersexual performance, which he said were “misrepresented”.
In the first video, Cooper made reference to the biblical verse, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil”, and used this as the focal point of his objection to the explicit act on stage. In addition, he pointed to the erosion of traditional concepts of good and evil in America in particular, as defined by Judeo-Christian values. He said this was seen in the past five years and “especially during the past year”.
This came after comments that suggested that those who react negatively or object to performance are “actually a bad person” and that there is an external demand for this act of “sexual degradation” to be applauded and celebrated.
Cooper’s comments immediately after the Bible quote is as follows:
Why would anyone call evil good and good evil? It’s simple: because they just redefine the terms. The question is: who is going to define what is good and who is going to define what is bad? All the dictators of history say that what they were doing was good. This is what they believe. If you go back and read some of Hitler’s speeches, he’ll be, like, ‘I’m going to set people free – free from the bondage of the Ten Commandments.’ In his mind, he is a deliverer. It’s always like that, guys. All you do is just redefine evil and redefine good. This is what is happening now at the Grammy.
“Yesterday, in my podcast, I reacted to Cardi B’s Grammy performance. And I realized that some of my words were misrepresented and taken outside the context of his intention,” said the Skillet singer in his next video (seen at the bottom of the page, transcript via Blabbermouth).
He further clarified: “So, let me say this: I didn’t compare Cardi B with Hitler, and I didn’t compare his performance with Hitler or any other dictator, and I certainly didn’t compare the Grammys or the music industry or any other artist, for any reason, to any dictator. “
Cooper also wanted to ensure that his remarks were not misinterpreted in such a way that they could be interpreted as “combining the consequences or the seriousness of Cardi B’s Grammy performance” and that he “would in no way mistake this for the horrors of the genocide that we saw in 1940 or any other violence and murders and all the death and destruction of any dictator that we have had in history. “
“Honestly, I don’t understand how it can be interpreted that way, but just to be clear and clear of any confusion, I was saying that we live in an age when it comes to morality when we are redefining what is good and what is it’s bad, “he added.
Supporting the notion of redefining good as evil and vice versa, Cooper explained: “Sometimes we have a hard time imagining that someone would do something bad and redefine and call it good. That’s why I was pointing out that there were many, many examples of dictators or horrible events in the last 100 years when people did very, very bad things, but believed or claimed that they were doing it for good reasons, for moral reasons, for liberating reasons ”.
By elucidating his quote of how the German dictator and Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler intended to redefine the two concepts, the Skillet leader continued: “And as an example of this, I was saying that if you came back and read some of Hitler’s speeches, you I would find that he claims to believe that he is liberating people and doing something virtuous. This in no way compared Cardi B to Hitler or any dictatorship of any kind, and he certainly wasn’t combining all the bad things that happened to the consequences of Cardi B’s performance, or any other performance in that regard. “
“I was speaking philosophically to make a point,” he said, “and then using an unmistakable example from the past when someone negotiated evil, but called it good.”
At the conclusion of the follow-up, Cooper noted that the controversial Grammy performance is a small-scale example of a broader problem.
“This Grammy presentation is a very small microcosm – it may seem trivial; it may seem a little stingy – it is just a microcosm to show something that is much bigger. In fact, I am not trying to blow this up in a crisis,” he asked and concluded saying, “Actually, I’m saying that we are in a crisis – but not because of the Grammy and not because of Cardi B and not because of a musical performance or any other musician, artist or band. That’s not why we are in crisis. And what is the crisis? The crisis is this: we are redefining what is moral and what is immoral, what is virtuous and what is not virtuous, and this will have devastating consequences for America. “
See the follow-up response and the initial reaction videos below.