Neil Young once stormed the country to sing the First Amendment’s praises.
That 2006 Freedom of Speech tour came after some said it was unpatriotic to critique the War on Terror. Young and his Crosby, Stills and Nash bandmates disagreed. They used the tour to skewer President George W. Bush, highlighted by the song, “Let’s Impeach the President.”
Subtle. And they had every right to sing it, even if they alienated longtime fans along the way.
It turns out Young’s First Amendment defense had plenty of strings attached.
Years later, Young declared war on a podcaster for sharing the “wrong” thoughts on a global pandemic. In 2021, the rocker said Joe Rogan’s contrarian COVID-19 views shouldn’t be shared on Spotify.
He even pulled his music from the platform to protest Rogan. It’s either him or me, Young argued. Spotify stuck with Rogan.
Young eventually returned his music to Spotify. Time has been kind to some of Rogan’s “problematic” pandemic views.
Meanwhile, Young said nothing about the media’s misinformation campaign tied to COVID-19. Remember how the jab would prevent the recipient from getting the virus and spreading it?
What about the six-foot rule? St. Anthony Fauci? The serial attacks on the lab leak theory?
Young stayed mum through it all, even though he was outraged by Rogan’s so-called lies.
It gets worse.
In recent years, Young has said nothing publicly while Cancel Culture ravaged the arts. “Sensitivity readers” sliced and diced novels by Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl and Agatha Christie. Comedians watched what they said for fear of career repercussions.
The Twitter Files scandal found a major tech platform silenced right-leaning Americans. Competing platforms booted a former President from their digital shelves.
The Biden administration, along with the disinformation czar dubbed “Scary Poppins,” vowed to censor more “misinformation” (like the Hunter Biden laptop story).
Where was Young during this crisis? Some free speech hero.
Now, Young is warning us that President Donald Trump might prevent him from touring stateside due to his negative comments about the 47th president.
“If I talk about Donald J. Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket…That is happening all the time now.”
His proof? He has nothing save innuendo from a UK punk outfit who lobbed similar complaints without backing them up with facts.
Suddenly, Young cares about free speech again. That’s all well and good, but his silence during the Cancel Culture years and eagerness to shut down Rogan tell a different story.
He’s a fraud, a partisan who only pipes up when it suits his self-interests or political ideology.
We need all the free speech warriors we can get in 2025, people like Bill Maher who consistently defend speech regardless of the politics in play. They should speak out early and often. President Trump should be scrutinized for missteps – like his predecessors.
FIRE has done just that regarding some of Trump’s recent policies. That’s a healthful part of a debate we need to have.
Young can’t be trusted to do just that. He’s already shown us why.
