The man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 is now claiming he’s a victim of “cancel culture.”
John Hinckley Jr., who has been trying to promote a new career singing country music, was scheduled to perform in Naugatuck, Connecticut, on March 30 — the 43rd anniversary of the day of the assassination attempt.
However, he told the New York Post that the show was postponed indefinitely.
“I think that’s fair to say: I’m a victim of cancel culture,” Hinckley told the outlet. “It keeps happening over and over again.”
Hinckley, 68, estimates that at least a dozen scheduled concerts have been canceled since starting off on his music career in 2022 ― including a sold-out debut show in New York ― because “owners don’t want the controversy.”
“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.”
The fact that Hinckley is getting booked may have less to do with his singing and more with the infamy that came after he opened fire on Reagan outside a Washington, D.C., hotel in 1981.
The shots wounded the president, partially paralyzed press secretary James Brady and injured two other men.
Hinckley was found not guilty due to insanity and spent most of his confinement in a Washington mental hospital before being freed from court supervision in 2022.
Since then, he has recorded and posted videos of his music on Spotify and YouTube. Titles include “Lonely Dreamer,” “I Will Be Your Man” and “Never Ending Quest.”
After griping about cancel culture at the Post, Hinckley took his concerns to X, formerly Twitter.
Not surprisingly, many users on X responded with various levels of snark.
