The Media Research Center does seem to enjoy getting its knickers in a twist over opinions expressed by aging rock musicians (see Springsteen, Bruce). Christian Toto lashed out at Neil Young (whom the MRC also went after in 2014 for being a supposed “hippie-hypocrite”), using an April 12 column to play the hypocrite card again:
Neil Young once stormed the country to sing the First Amendment’s praises.
That 2006 Freedom of Speech tour came after some said it was unpatriotic to critique the War on Terror. Young and his Crosby, Stills and Nash bandmates disagreed. They used the tour to skewer President George W. Bush, highlighted by the song, “Let’s Impeach the President.”
Subtle. And they had every right to sing it, even if they alienated longtime fans along the way.
It turns out Young’s First Amendment defense had plenty of strings attached.
Years later, Young declared war on a podcaster for sharing the “wrong” thoughts on a global pandemic. In 2021, the rocker said Joe Rogan’s contrarian COVID-19 views shouldn’t be shared on Spotify.
He even pulled his music from the platform to protest Rogan. It’s either him or me, Young argued. Spotify stuck with Rogan.
In fact, Rogan was very much wrong — not just “contrarian” — fearmongering about the COVID vaccine, spreading a conspiracy that President Biden faked getting vaccinated on TV, and allowing known misinformers Peter McCullough and Robert Malone to spread their bogus claims unchecked. Still, Toto insisted on sticking with the conspiracy narrative:
Young eventually returned his music to Spotify. Time has been kind to some of Rogan’s “problematic” pandemic views.
Meanwhile, Young said nothing about the media’s misinformation campaign tied to COVID-19. Remember how the jab would prevent the recipient from getting the virus and spreading it?
What about the six-foot rule? St. Anthony Fauci? The serial attacks on the lab leak theory?
Young stayed mum through it all, even though he was outraged by Rogan’s so-called lies.
Toto continued to whine that Rogan is a victim and Young is a hypocrite for not standing by Rogan’s (actual) lies:
Now, Young is warning us that President Donald Trump might prevent him from touring stateside due to his negative comments about the 47th president.
“If I talk about Donald J. Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket…That is happening all the time now.”
His proof? He has nothing save innuendo from a UK punk outfit who lobbed similar complaints without backing them up with facts.
Suddenly, Young cares about free speech again. That’s all well and good, but his silence during the Cancel Culture years and eagerness to shut down Rogan tell a different story.
He’s a fraud, a partisan who only pipes up when it suits his self-interests or political ideology.
We need all the free speech warriors we can get in 2025, people like Bill Maher who consistently defend speech regardless of the politics in play. They should speak out early and often. President Trump should be scrutinized for missteps – like his predecessors.
We’re not aware that Toto has ever scrutinized Trump’s missteps — he’s too much of a loyalist and much more interested in making partisan attacks on people who aren’t as right-wing as he is.