Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan recently made a bold statement on stage. At the Welcome to Rockville Festival on Sunday night (May 21) in Daytona Beach, Florida, the singer who often dons elaborate costumes during his band’s sets slipped into something that seemed aimed at making Florida Gov. and likely Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis feel uncomfortable.
It has been noted that during Tool’s first show of 2023, Keenan took the stage in a blonde wig, smeared red lipstick and a body-hugging shirt that showed off his fake breasts.
It is noted that most people assumed that it was done in response to Florida governor Ron DeSantis recently signing a series of bills against the transgender community, including preventing minors from attending drag shows. It is because Welcome To Rockville is open to all ages, Keenan technically broke the new law designed to punish people and venues that admit kids to drag shows, burlesque performances and other types of “lewd” entertainment.
In a new interview with The Messenger, however, Maynard denied that his actions that anything to do with DeSantis.
“I’m not a political fella — had nothing to do with Florida,” he told The Messenger. “I’ve been cross-dressing since long before these clickbait-junkie dupes were out of diapers. It’s pretty crazy the technology and the prosthetics nowadays, how they’ve come along, and I just was considering bringing the look back.
“It’s amazing to me how every single thing you say or do is twisted and conformed into some fundamentalist far-right or far-left agenda,” Maynard added.
Despite the fact that Keenan was technically violating Florida’s new law, he told The Messenger that he hasn’t received an official summons over it. “Nobody’s enforcing it,” he said. “They just do that and they throw it out there to shore up their base for an election year.”
Keenan also told The Messenger he doesn’t support the restrictions for drag shows, saying: “I think limiting people’s access to anything is absurd. Good parenting allows you to teach your kids how to be reasonable and reason and puzzle things out and decide for themselves what the f*ck they wanna see or not wanna see.”
Asked by The Messenger if he “claims membership in the drag community,” Maynard said: “I guess so, yeah. “On occasion, I am a drag queen; I’ve been a drag queen. I’m casual, so the hardcore people are going to dismiss me as being a tourist. Let’s be honest, I’m 59. So [Sunday] night’s performance looked more like Brienne Of Tarth on her worst day.”
