Folk Musician, Attempted Assassin John Hinkley Jr. Says He's A Victim Of Cancel Culture

Look, around these parts we're not fans of cancel culture. It's a very real phenomenon where people are having their lives ruined and their voices silenced for speaking their minds or making an honest mistake.

There is a laundry list of victims who either were successfully canceled or people tried to have them canceled. John Hinkley Jr. probably isn't on that list, even though he claims to be because his concerts keep getting canceled.

The 68-year-old who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 — an incident that wounded Reagan, police officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, as well as Press Secretary James Brady (who died 33 years later, but his death was ruled a homicide) — in a bid to impress actress Jodie Foster spent 30 years in a mental hospital but was granted supervised release in 2016.

During that time, Hinkley took to folk music and started releasing songs on YouTube. He has amassed a sizable audience with nearly 40,000 subscribers.

So, Hinkley figured it was time to take the show on the road, and that's where the trouble started.

John Hinckley Jr. spent decades incarcerated for attempting to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, but now he's pursuing a career as a folk singer. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly / AFP) (Photo by RYAN M. KELLY/AFP via Getty Images)

Hinkley's Gigs Keep Getting Canceled

Hinkley was supposed to play a gig at the Hotel Huxley in Naugatuck, Connecticut on March 30, which just so happens to be the 43rd anniversary of when he opened fire on the sitting president of the United States.

That show was called off because… well, I'm sure you can figure out why.

"I think that’s fair to say: I’m a victim of cancel culture," Hinckley told The New York Post. "It keeps happening over and over again."

Look, I believe in second chances, but it's hard to wash off the stink of an attempted assassination. That's going to follow you around whether your post-incarceration life involves living alone in a shack or playing folk tunes in bars.

People can deal with certain transgressions, but Hinkley's is kind of a biggie.

"They book me and then the show gets announced and then the venue starts getting backlash," he said. "The owners always cave, they cancel. It’s happened so many times, it’s kinda what I expect.

"I don’t really get upset."

You can't blame the guy for making a go of it, but I wouldn't say that Hinkley's a victim of cancel culture, he's just getting canceled on a lot. 

You can understand why.