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Dee Snider: PMRC Wanted a ‘Moron’ Like Vince Neil to Testify

todayNovember 10, 2023

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Dee Snider claims the PMRC wanted a “complete moron” to testify during the famous 1985 Senate hearings, and that he wouldn’t have been invited “if they had done their homework.”
The Twisted Sister singer looked back at his famous visit to Capitol Hill during a recent interview on the Wild Ride! With Steve-O podcast.
“We’re one of the biggest bands in the world, we’re on the Filthy Fifteen,” Snider recalled. “So we were literal targets. So they figured, ‘Oh, this guy looks like a complete moron. Or an incomplete moron, which is even worse. Let’s get him.’ But if they had just spent a moment, there was no social media. ‘Oh shit, he’s married? He doesn’t do drugs? He doesn’t drink? What a second, this is not our guy.’”

READ MORE: Top 10 Twisted Sister Songs
Snider famously turned the PMRC on its head during his testimony, eloquently picking apart the group’s arguments on censorship. His articulate display was a far cry from what the politicians had expected.
“If they had done their homework and gotten past the picture and the popularity,” Snider explained to Steve-O. “If they’d looked at the lyrics, I used four syllable lyrics in ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It.’ I mean, nobody uses – ‘trite and jaded, boring and confiscated.’ I mean, that’s not rock lyrics, that’s the Declaration of Independence for God’s sakes! And so they did not vet me, and they got what they deserved.”
“If they had gotten a Vince Neil, that’s who they wanted. They wanted someone to get up and go ‘Blblblblb,’” Snider further remarked, making an incoherent babbling noise.
Dee Snider Previously Called Vince Neil a ‘Murderer’
This isn’t the first time Snider has made an eye-catching quote regarding Motley Crue’s singer. While the PMRC comment was said in passing, the Twisted Sister frontman was far more pointed in 2016 when discussing Neil’s alcohol-fueled car accident that killed Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle.
READ MORE: The Night Hanoi Rocks Drummer Razzle Was Killed in a Car Crash
“Vince Neil could go and literally kill someone in a car accident,” Snider noted at the time to Yahoo Music. “And people are cool with that. They’re like, ‘Yeah, all right! Rock ‘n’ roll!!'”
“The guy didn’t do any serious jail time,” Snider continued. “I’m, like, ‘Really? Really? He’s a murderer.’ I don’t get that at all.”

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