Eddie Vedder made an unfortunately timed political statement just before Donald Trump’s assassination attempt.
During their performance at NOS Alive festival in Portugal, according to The Mirror, frontman Eddie Vedder spoke about the upcoming election in the U.S. and the country’s political division, saying he hoped people would find and vote for the right leaders and “get rid of the cancer” before playing a solo rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine”.
While Vedder has never been shy about his political standing, his choice of words can be seen as a bit awkwardly timed with the shooting at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania taking place soon afterwards.
Eddie Vedder wants ‘cancer’ removed from U.S. election
“We have really had some great, great experiences in your country and we are extremely grateful every time and I say that with all my heart. One of the memories I have is the first time I ever played this song. I was playing at a festival and I was all by myself. I had learned the song the day before because I felt that we needed it,” Vedder started.
“The world was having some pain and so it is the last show before we leave [Europe] and go back to our country. It feels like there’s going to be some pain. We have some elections coming up… I hope we can get rid of the cancer and heal ourselves.
“I wish that for all the countries right now going through issues. We can find good leaders and heal ourselves. It is the people that will find the leaders, they won’t find themselves. If you want to turn your cameras into torches and sing with me, maybe we can feel the energy and power together.”
