Ted Nugent has once again blamed his exclusion from the Rock And Rock Hall Of Fame on the establishment's supposed political bias.
The conservative rocker, who been eligible for the honor as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.
Asked in a new interview with Guitar World about his previous comment that he finds it find it "disrespectful" that he hasn't been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame , Nugent responded: "I think my statements are irrefutable. I mean, STYX is not in the Hall Of Fame . How can STYX and Ted Nugent not be in the Hall Of Fame , but Patti Smith is? I mean, just look at the name: Rock. And. Roll. Hall. Of. Fame. Hey, I'm not an English major, but I'm an English master. I know what those words mean, and Grandmaster Flash doesn't qualify. ABBA . Madonna . Really? Somebody could look you in the eye and explain that to you with a straight face? I don't fucking think so. No wonder the term “comfortably numb is appropriate often times in our society. Because someone was comfortably numb when they made those decisions."
Asked what he thinks keeps him out of the Rock Hall , he said: "Oh, because I murder innocent animals. [ Laughs ] I think the biggest one is because I'm really militantly anti-substance abuse, and I think everybody on the board abuses substances. That's what I think. But when it comes to music, I dismiss all political considerations, ideology considerations, race considerations, ethnic considerations, sexual confusion… whatever is different than me that has no bearing on my love of music."
Last year, Nugent said that it was a "sacrilege" that he has yet to be inducted into the Rock Hall , and he called its directors an "ultra-leftist, liberal CEO-driven gang who couldn't give a rat's ass about the music."
A lifelong gun enthusiast, hunter and longtime board member of the NRA , Nugent has made headlines in recent years for his extreme right-wing views and for being a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump .
