‘Literally Speechless,’ Skillet’s John Cooper Addresses Musicians Dressed in Drag at the Dove Awards

“54th annual dove awards, here we come,” Webb tweeted, with a picture of the trio. 

Cooper, who hosts the Cooper Stuff podcast, told Church Leaders, “Obviously, they’re just trying to get attention, they’re trying to disrupt, and they’re going about it in a clever way,

He added, “And the truth is they are being the aggressors in this.”

Cooper also shared that artists like them would not attend a “Muslim music celebration to do the same” because that would be “a little bit too insensitive. You don’t want to go in and just start stomping on somebody’s religion. The laws of intersectionality would apply.”

He contended that the Christian music industry should be aware that Webb and the others act as aggressors in light of their recent actions. The Skillet musician also believes that “the industry has set the groundwork to make people feel like they can bully us because we are so wimpy and weak,” describing the issue as an “absurdity” since it makes Christians  “apologetic about what we believe.”

In response to the Dove Awards controversy, Weeb defended his choice of attire in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter.

“As a cis, straight, white man, I walk into a room like that and any room with an incredible amount of advantage and privilege,” Webb, who’s previously won 3 Dove Awards, explained. “If I’m attending as an ally of friends and colleagues, I should do everything possible to surrender that privilege at the door.”

“If the way you look at my loved ones isn’t the way you’re looking at me, I’m not truly standing with them,” he continued.

Webb also quoted progressive and LGBT-affirming Christian pastor Stan Mitchell, who said, “If you claim to be someone’s ally but aren’t getting hit by the stones thrown at them, you aren’t standing close enough.”

Webb was formerly a member of the folk-rock group Caedmon’s Call, where he was a guitarist and songwriter until he departed from the group in 2003 due to a shift in beliefs and focus on a solo career.

In 2013, Christian musician Sandra McCracken divorced Webb in light of his alleged affair.

Earlier this year, Webb released a song with Grant titled “Boys Will Be Girls.” The song’s release was part of Webb’s latest album, which he described as his “first Christian and gospel album in 10 years.”

Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Ethan Miller/Staff

Video Courtesy: One America News Network via YouTube

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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.

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