A popular country artist announced on Monday that he plans to cancel upcoming shows at venues that require vaccine proof, masks, or a negative Covid-19 test.
Travis Tritt announced last week via his website, “I’m putting my money where my mouth is and announcing that any venue or promoter mandating masks, requiring vaccinations, or pushing Covid testing protocols on my fans will not be tolerated.”
“Any show I have booked that discriminates against concert-goers by requiring proof of vaccination, a Covid test, or a mask is being canceled immediately,” Tritt stated. “Many people are taking a firm stand against these mandates around the country, and I wholeheartedly support that cause. I have been extremely vocal against mandates since the beginning.”
“This is a sacrifice that I’m willing to make to stand up for the freedoms that generations of Americans have enjoyed for their entire lifetimes,” he continued. “There are plenty of promoters and venues around the country that appreciate fans and the freedom of choice in this great country, and those are the promoters and venues that I will be supporting.”
Four shows in Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, and Kentucky were reportedly canceled following the announcement.
Fox News’ Tucker Carlson invited Tritt to appear on his show to discuss his decision to stand against Covid-19 requirements.
Tritt told Carlson that although his shows have been labeled as “super-spreaders” there has been no reported spikes in coronavirus cases after his shows.
“Well, we’ve done about 75 shows so far this year all over the country, Tucker, and in spite of the fact that some people would try to label these as being, quote-unquote, ‘super-spreaders,’ the actual numbers don’t reflect that at all,” Tritt told Carlson.
“As a matter of fact, quite the opposite. In most of these areas, we’ve seen the Covid numbers actually drop dramatically over the last few weeks and months, and so it came as quite a shock to me and a lot of my fans when after the first week of October, during the first week of October, a lot of these shows had restrictions placed on them not by the state, not by the local city government, not by the local health department in municipalities, but by the actual promoters/venue owners,” said the country singer.
“So this is not about — this is not about following the science or trying to look out for the safety of the people there, this is about something else,” he added. “This is trying to divide people.”
Other artists such as Eric Clapton and Jim Breuer joined Tritt in announcing they will not perform where venues require vaccination proof.