Maynard James Keenan Responds to Fan Uproar About New Times Story

UPDATE: 11:50 a.m. on 10/29/2015: This story has been updated twice since it originally published. The updates appear in chronological order at the end of the story.

Our story about the new Puscifer album took over the Internet Tuesday, going so viral that it was trending on Facebook. While the story discusses Keenan's relationship to wine, Puscifer, and Tool, many interpreted a comment he made about Tool fans to be inflammatory. 

"It's lost. Insufferable people . . . It's just ridiculous, retards. I'm sorry. Can't help them. Way too serious. Too much. Lighten up."

The music blog Consequence of Sound wrote a post about the New Times story that framed that quote for maximum sensationalism: "Maynard James Keenan wants nothing to do with Tool, or their fans." 

The story spread around social media, and Tuesday night, Keenan took to Twitter to respond.

User @nathan_felts tweeted, "hilarious that you can flat out insult your core fanbase then shit in a ziplock and they'd still buy it. now THATS talent" [sic]. Keenan responded, "Our core fanbase aren't fanatics. They're music lovers & artists & good people. Its the fanatics that are insufferable."

@nathan_felts Our core fanbase aren't fanatics. They're music lovers & artists & good people. Its the fanatics that are insufferable.

— Maynard J Keenan (@mjkeenan) October 28, 2015

User @snuggleButters tweeted "Maynard James Keenan wants nothing to do with Tool, or their fans ... I'd hope this wasn't true."

Keenan replied, "Not True."

@snuggleButters @coslive Not true.

— Maynard J Keenan (@mjkeenan) October 28, 2015

Another user simply asked Keenan if he stood by the "headlines floating around claiming you denounce all @Tool fans as 'retards' you want nothing to do with?"

"Context," Keenan tweeted.

@fa8b42fb1b6e47a @Tool Context.

— Maynard J Keenan (@mjkeenan) October 28, 2015

He ended the Twitter session in his typical irreverent fashion. He retweeted a fan who said, "@mjkeenan Tool fans are way too serious? I can't go a day without drawing a dick on something."

@mjkeenan Tool fans are way too serious? I can't go a day without drawing a dick on something.

— Judging Finger (@FintanHennessy) October 27, 2015

UPDATE: 10/28/2015, 11 a.m.: Keenan has retweeted a few more people:

If your panties are in a wad over the out of context quotes from @mjkeenan the quotes probably pertain to you.

— Kevin Guthrie (@khguthrie) October 28, 2015

a lot of pretty dead serious responses to @mjkeenan 's theory that fans are too serious. also, recognize clickbait. context matters.

— rich (@coenurus) October 28, 2015

UPDATE: 10/29/2015, 12 p.m.: Keenan has given a statement to Billboard magazine: "It is unfortunate that during an interview about Puscifer's Friday release of Money Shot, a comment I made, in the context of a much lengthier discussion about obsessive fanatics, was taken out of context by a few “news” outlets so they could drive up their own readership. It's called clickbait and it's boring. Our core fanbase aren't fanatics. They're music lovers, artists and good people. It's the fanatics that are insufferable."