Charley Crockett has publicly defended his decision to drop L.A. indie rock duo Twin Temple from two dates on his Age of the Ram Tour, setting off a wave of online backlash that he says has generated more threats of violence than any previous public dispute in his career.
Twin Temple, a band known for incorporating Satanic imagery into their performances, had been set to open for Crockett at two July shows before he pulled the plug. The duo went public with the removal, stating they were disappointed to lose the opportunity — particularly given what the pairing represented in terms of bringing together different kinds of music fans. Crockett wasted no time firing back with his own explanation, and the controversy has since spiraled into a broader commentary on artistic freedom, industry hypocrisy, and the personal cost of fame.
Crockett Draws His Line
Crockett’s first public response came in a post that read, “F–K TRUMP, F–K EPSTEIN BUT HAIL SATAN? NOT ME JACK,” accompanied by a photo of him in a railroad yard. The post cycled on and off Instagram before eventually being deleted, though it remained live on Facebook as of Monday, July 13. A follow-up comment clarified, at least partially, what was driving him: “This ain’t got nothin’ to do with Twin Temple really. It’s about all the hypocrisy out there.” He went on to frame the decision as a matter of personal rights, writing, “The Creator gave us free will. But with free will comes the burden of choice. You have rights, and so do I. I’m standing on mine.”
A subsequent post dismissed the idea that headliners owe their openers any explanation at all. “I might wake up at 1PM on the back of that bus and find out that the opener ain’t working for me that night. Tough luck. Life is hard. This ain’t no temp agency,” he wrote. He also took aim at what he described as “shameless exhibitionists” he has encountered the further he has risen in the entertainment industry, adding that he would return to busking on a street corner before compromising his values.
Backlash Eclipses the Wallen-Adcock Feud
Some fans noted that Crockett had liked Twin Temple’s Instagram posts going back several months, raising questions about the timing of his objections. Others criticized the manner in which he handled the removal. Responding to one commenter who called his approach “corny,” Crockett pointed out that all he had done was ask an opening act to step away from two paid shows.
More striking was his comparison of the current blowback to last September’s public dispute involving Gavin Adcock and Morgan Wallen — a conflict that erupted when Crockett and Adcock clashed online over Beyoncé’s place in country music, and Wallen was drawn in after Crockett posted a pointed remark about a “#1 country artist on Earth” who “listens to nothing but rap.” Wallen responded at a live show by flipping off Adcock, who was wearing a Crockett T-shirt at the time. Despite the size of Wallen’s fanbase, Crockett said that episode was nothing compared to what he is experiencing now. “For all the drama I got into with Wallen and Beyoncé and Adcock, I never had so much violence threatened against me,” he wrote in a comment on one of his since-deleted posts.
With the Age of the Ram Tour still on the horizon, the question of who will fill those two opening slots — and whether Crockett’s outspoken approach continues to draw this level of reaction — remains very much open.
