Wow! There's someone who doesn't want fans! That letter she wrote really is the definition of shallow. I sure as hell wont be buying any of her records.
STEVE T. >From: "Lee Ashley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: "Lee Ashley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "Sarah Haxby" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Hillman Jace" ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Bhawani Persad Sinanan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "Debora Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Eric Aufdencamp" ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "this guy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Dorothee Anne Baker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, >"Irene Stein" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Penn Muzzu Baker" ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Fw: [womenfriends] Fwd: Singer Michelle Mayfield, Homophobic? >Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2002 08:28:22 -0700 > > >Subject: Singer Michelle Mayfield, Homophobic? > >Date: Tu, 29 Aug 2002 23:14:53 -0700 > > > > > > > >Subject: Singer Michelle Mayfield, Homophobic? > > > > > > > > Prior to this email, I had never heard of Michelle Mayfield. Apparently > > she is a musician who is (was) up and coming and had acquired a rather > > large gay/lesbian fan base. Her heterosexual fans were unhappy with the > >public displays of outwardly gay behavior at her shows, so Ms. Mayfield > >felt inclined to write the following email to her "friends and fans." > >Following her email, is a response from one very angry lesbian. > > > > Another ironic tidbit of information that you might be interested to >know > >is that if you go to Ms. Mayfield's website and view her available > > CDs, you'll see that she has a live CD on which she covers various > >artists. Strangely enough, #8 is Melissa Etheridge's "Like The Way I Do." > > > > Please do your best to keep this email circulating and feel free to >email > >Ms. Mayfield with your thoughts at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > The letter from Michelle: > > > > A Letter to My Fans; > > Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 > > > > Dear Fans and Friends, > > > > First of all, I want to thank all of you for your continued support of > > me and my music. I have enjoyed the past year and am very excited about > > what is in my future. However, there is a situation that has been > > brought to my attention that needs to be addressed. > > > > At the present time, within my fanbase there is a significant group of > > people who have alternate sexual preferences. Please know that I > > appreciate my fanbase no matter who or what they are - I, in no way, > >shape, or form am complaining. However, as an artist, I am continually > > wanting to expand that fanbase - to mothers and fathers, to college > > students, to teenagers, etc. I honestly believe my music has the appeal > > to be able to do that. It is not only important to me personally, but > > it is imperative for my future ~ record executives are looking for >artists > >with an established and significant following - they don't do very many > >"developmental" deals these days. > > > > However, I have had several complaints from bar owners, friends, >fans,and > >potential fans regarding the outwardly show of affection that has taken > >place at my shows. This type of behavior, right or wrong, reflects on me >as > >the artist who has brought you to that club. Let me give you some >examples: > > > > 1) I have several friends who will not ask their families, friends or > >coworkers to shows because of this behavior and the potential negative > >reflection that may be projected upon them as fans of mine. > > > >2) A gentleman from a show at "The Six of Clubs" made a comment in the > > men's bathroom, "What's going on here tonight? I thought this was a > > straight bar." > > > > As an artist, I want to be known for my MUSIC. It is VERY IMPORTANT to > > me to NOT be stereotyped, pidgeonholed, or categorized in a way that >will > >alienate anyone from listening or coming to see my shows. I do not want >to > >become a Melissa Etheridge or a Patrice Pike (although I love them both >and > >respect them very much as artists) - most people don't think about their > >music first.....they think of their sexual orientation - whether right or > >wrong, that's the way it is. Whether I am straight or gay, it is no one's > >business in the first place and I, personally, am not open to making that > >anyone's business. It should be about the music...period. > > > > I cannot control the behavior of anyone, however, I am respectfully > > asking all of you as fans and friends to please be respectful of what I > > am trying to accomplish as an artist. Please be respectful of the places > >where I am performing by being aware of the actions that can possibly >turn > >potential fans away from my music or from my future shows. > > > >I want EVERYONE to feel comfortable coming to my shows - and from what >I've > >been told, people are not comfortable because of this behavior. If this > >means you cannot continue to support me or come to my future shows, then >I > >will understand and respect that decision. I appreciate your support up > >until this time. > > > > I sincerely hope you will understand the purpose of this letter and will > > respect my request. > > > > Thanks for your continued support ~ > > > > Michelle > > > > > > The response: > > > > An Open Letter to Michelle Mayfield 8.13.2002 > > > >H, Michelle > > > > I got a copy of your note written to your friends and fans asking that >your > >gay and lesbian fans, the "significant group of people who have alternate > >sexual preferences," do their best to hide their sexual orientation when > >they come to hear you perform. > > > > You say that you are worried for your heterosexual fans who might be > > subject to "the potential negative reflection that may be projected upon > > them as fans of mine" if people realize you've got a lot of queer fans. > > > > Gosh, I'm sure it must be hard on you to have to deal with "the >outwardly > >show of affection that has taken place" at your shows and all those badly > >behaved lesbians and gay men. All those dykes humping each other's legs >to > >the rhythm of your music and whatnot; it must be terrible. So, just to >show > >you how concerned I am about this awful situation, me and my friends >doing > >everything we can to make sure that all the queer-acting folks stay away > >from your shows in order to make sure that your squeamish heterosexual >fans > >feel okay about being there. > > > >In fact, I'll even work on convincing the queer-acting people who do go >to > >your shows to make sure that everyone in the venue knows they are *not* a > >fan of yours. That should make you really happy. > > > > How are we going to do this? First, we'll send out the e-mail to >everyone > >we know, so they get the idea. Then we'll also send it to e-mail groups, > >like Austingrrls, SublimeAustin, AustinFeminists and the NOW lists and >other > >gay and lesbian lists around the state. I'll even make sure to send it to > >Aggie Pride, the gay and lesbian list for former A&M students, since, >like > >you, I'm a graduate of Texas A&M (Class of '91. Whoop!) and Aggies like >to > >help each other out, right? And I'll make sure to put a link to it on my > >website. > > > >But we might miss a few people if we just rely on the internet, so we'll > > send your letter out to publications that gay and lesbian people >read,like > >the Texas Triangle, the Houston Voice, The Austin Chronicle, The Dallas > >Voice, Ambush, and whatever else we can track down. We'll also make sure >to > >contact radio stations that gay people listen to, like KGSR and KLBJ and >Mix > >94.7, and get them to make sure they play your music less during the > >dayparts in which they have gay and lesbian listeners, thus making it >less > >likely that queers will come to your shows. I'm not sure how effective >this > >will be in keeping all those queer-acting people out of your shows, but I > >think it should work pretty well, since most of these people, like me, >think > >it is "VERY IMPORTANT ...to NOT be stereotyped, pidgeonholed, or > >categorized" as someone who should be forced to hide who they are so as >not > >to project "negative" associations on the people they are standing next >to > >at a club. In fact, most of the people who see this will never come to >your > >shows or buy your albums or say anything nice about you to anyone again >once > >they see the bigoted and insulting e-mail you sent out to your "fans and > >friends." > > > > And, you're right, it would suck for you to have the success of Melissa > > Etheridge. What the hell were we thinking? > > >----------------------------------------------------------------------------- >--- >Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: Click Here > > Yahoo! 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