Dee Snider took aim at former President Donald Trump’s supporters, claiming that “MAGAT FASCISTS” and others like them were the reason behind Twisted Sister’s iconic anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
Snider alternated between all-caps and normal text in a tweet that mirrored the tone of the angry protest rock for which he is famous.
“ATTENTION QANON, MAGAT FASCISTS: Every time you sing ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ remember it was written by a cross-dressing, libtard, tree hugging half Jew who HATES everything you stand for,” he said. “It was you and people like you that inspired every angry word of that song! SO F*** OFF!”
ATTENTION QANON, MAGAT FASCISTS: Every time you sing "We're Not Gonna Take It" remember it was written by a cross-dressing, libtard, tree hugging half-Jew who HATES everything you stand for. It was you and people like you that inspired every angry word of that song! SO FUCK OFF!
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) August 26, 2022
But as critics quickly noted, Democrats were the driving force behind the effort to censor bands like Snider’s — and that song in particular.
Aldous Huxley’s Ghost (@AF632) responded to the tweet, saying, “I remember you in Congress, Dee, arguing in favor of free speech because Democrats wanted to censor you. Now you’re shilling for those same Democrats in power.”
I remember you in Congress, Dee, arguing in favor of free speech because Democrats wanted to censor you. Now you're shilling for those same Democrats who are in power. pic.twitter.com/kWvLaS9Rd1
— Aldous Huxley's Ghost™ (@AF632) August 26, 2022
Snider appeared before the Senate in 1985 after a pro-censorship group known as the Parental Music Resource Center (PMRC) published a list of problematic bands and tunes that included Twisted Sister. Although the Senate was controlled by Republicans at the time, the drive to censor music was largely a Democrat project. The PMRC itself was spearheaded by Tipper Gore — who would be second lady just seven years later — and suggested that “We’re Not Gonna take It” should be slapped with warning label because it promoted “violence.”
According to Snider, he opted to appear before Congress — alongside fellow musicians Frank Zappa and John Denver — because he was confident in his ability to present a clear case against censorship.
“They really wanted [Mötley Crüe singer] Vince Neil,” Snider told Rolling Stone in 2015, three decades after the hearing took place. “Vince is not very articulate. He actually is a life-styler, so he probably would have been half in the bag going in there. They would have smacked him around, because he’s incapable of fighting at the level. As far as going and having an intellectual debate on something, he’d be pretty defenseless.”
“Ms. Gore claimed that one of my songs, ‘Under the Blade,’ had lyrics encouraging sadomasochism, bondage and rape,” Snider told Congress at the time. “The lyrics she quoted have absolutely nothing to do with these topics. On the contrary, the words in question are about surgery and the fear that it instills in people. … I can say categorically that the only sadomasochism, bondage and rape in this song is in the mind of Ms. Gore.”
Snider has since lashed out at Republicans who have used his song at events — from Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) to former President Donald Trump, with whom Snider once sang the tune onstage — while offering blanket approval to any candidate who claims to be “pro-choice.”