Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider is OK with Ukrainians using his smash hit, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as an act of defiance against the Russian invasion.
Anti-maskers? Absolutely not, he says.
In a tweet, the singer allowed the use of his song and explained why.
“I absolutely approve of Ukrainians using ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as their battlecry,” the rocker tweeted. “My grandfather was Ukrainian, before it was swallowed up by the USSR after WW2. This can’t happen to these people again!”
But that favor does not extend to anti-maskers, he said, emphasizing that people disregarding public safety measures should not blast the classic tune to show defiance.
“People are asking me why I endorsed the use of ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ for the Ukrainian people and did not for the anti-maskers,” he tweeted this week. “Well, one use is for a righteous battle against oppression; the other is a infantile feet stomping against an inconvenience.”
Snider has been outspoken with his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and last week, he shared an old photo of himself wearing a button that said, “Russia sucks.”
“Holy Crap! I’m I actually wearing that pin in what looks like about 1978?! (My Ukrainian grandpa would have been so proud!),” he tweeted.
Snider has said he’s overwhelmed by the response to his tweet allowing use of his song by Ukrainians.
“The take away for me is most people think the anti-maskers are whining babies and support the Ukrainian people in their valiant struggle against TRUE oppression,” he wrote.
In 2020, a customer shared a video inside a Target store showing customers chanting “we’re not gonna take it anymore!” and “take it off!” At the time, Snider said the group doesn’t have his permission to use the song for “their moronic cause.”
Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine about a week ago, prompting Ukrainians to take up arms and fight back. More than half a million refugees have fled Ukraine, according to the UN.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged US President Joe Biden to give a strong message about Russia’s invasion during his State of the Union address.