The backlash to his use of earplugs was, in a word, silly. Ear protection is serious stuffâitâs not just for the babies of rock stars who look super duper cute wearing those extra large earmuffs! Especially for a man whose career is predicated on his ability to hear well, itâs the responsible thing to do to wear ear protection in a room with back-to-back-to-back live music performances. Iâm honestly surprised we didnât witness even more stars cramming little DayGlo-orange bits of foam into their ear canals.
I can only assume that the fans who were upset with Jack Antonoff, specifically, were looking for drama where none existed due to his close friendship with Taylor Swift, who famously participated in a six-year-long beef with Perry. All eyes were on Swift and Antonoff during Perryâs acceptance speech, where fans clocked a big reaction to the moment Perry thanked the LGBTQ+ community for teaching her that itâs okay to be both âkind and c-nt.â A fan video from inside the venue appeared to show Antonoff and Swift joking around after the comment, with Antonoff pointing a finger at the pop star. Honestly, it was kinda funny.
The moral of the story is: Protect your ears! Donât be afraid to look a little silly wearing earplugs at a show. I promise, youâll still be able to hear everything. (And if youâre really a nerd about it, you can buy fancy earplugs that look like jewelry and come in a cool case.) Iâd shout this message from the rooftops if I could, but the people who need to hear it probably canât. Tinnitus is no joke.
