Neil Young Banned From Canadian Radio Station for Comparing Local Town to Hiroshima

September 15th, 2013 5:42 PM

Music's Neil Young picked the wrong community to mess with.

After saying that Fort McMurray, Canada, as a result of oil production in the town, looks like Hiroshima after the 1945 nuclear attack, radio station Rock 97.9 has banned his music from its airwaves.

According to the website of ABC's Phoenix, Arizona, affiliate, Young gave a press conference in Washington, D.C., about his opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline.

"The fact is, Fort McMurray looks like Hiroshima," Young said. "There's fumes everywhere. You can smell it when you get to town."

The Edmonton Journal reported Young also said, “Fort McMurray is a wasteland. The Indians up there and the native peoples are dying." 

“I’ve lived here nine years. I’ve raised my kids here,” Will Gibson, a spokesman for Syncrude, told the Journal. "It’s a beautiful community.”

According to Gibson, air quality readings in Fort McMurray are better than most metropolitan cities.

As such, Young's comments sparked a flood of calls to Rock 97.9 demanding his music not be played.

Host Chris Byrne said no topic has caused as many people to call or write the station since he's worked there.

It appears it's no longer just southern men that don't need Young around.

(HT Dan Gainor)