Rocker John Mellencamp Adds ‘Take a Knee’ Segment to His Concerts

Rocker John Mellencamp has added a “take a knee” segment to his concerts to celebrate protests against the United States.

The 1980s hitmaker featured the segment during his appearance at New York City’s Beacon Theater as he wrapped up his tune, “Easy Target,” according to Fox News.

With lyrics like “Well, let the poor be damned, and the easy targets too,” and, “All are created equal, equally beneath me and you,” the crooner told his audience where he stands on minorities and the poor.

Mellencamp’s demonstration is not the first time he took a knee. The “Jack and Diane” singer also took a knee last year during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, after which he claimed the act was spontaneous.

“I’ve never planned anything in my life,” Mellencamp told Billboard magazine last year. “Taking a knee felt like nothing. At the time, it felt like part of the performance. After the fact, I hope it made some kind of difference.”

Mellencamp has not been silent on politics, either. In 2017 he attacked all voters and supporters of President Donald Trump during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Jane Pauley.

Despite making millions with his decades-long music career, Mellencamp also proclaimed himself a “socialist.”

The Indiana-born singer is in the midst of a national tour and will appear in Louisville, St. Louis, Nashville, and Albuquerque over the next few months.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.