In an interview with USA Today, the “Heartbreaker” singer shared that fans attending her current tour—where she performs each night with her music partner and husband Neil Giraldo—have been having a “heart attack” over the fact that she’s stopped playing her hit 1980s classic song “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” She attributes the missing hit to its association with shooting a gun. “I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can’t,” she told the outlet. Even though the title is tongue-in-cheek, every time she sings it she thinks of the epidemic of gun violence, noting, “In deference to the victims [and] the families of these mass shootings, I’m not singing it.” She calls this her small contribution to protesting. “I’m not going to go on stage and soapbox – I go to my legislators,” she added. “[But] I’m not going to sing it. Tough.” Though blunt, Benatar’s stance is more than admirable. And if fans are really missing hearing the song, she says they can go home and listen to it on their own. USA Today dug deeper to find out how social traumas like mass shootings or Roe v. Wade’s overturning have affected Benatar’s perception and relationship with the music she’s been performing for decades. In regards to reproductive rights, she said it’s not specifically about abortion for her. “I’m worried…about fundamental autonomy rights. This is a slippery slope," she said. Benatar sees potential for a snowball effect, explaining that she’s worried about what rights will come next. She also points to her upcoming project Invincible. Though details are vague, she calls it “really important” to her relationship with her past tracks. The jukebox musical features a number of songs from her discography and reimagines Romeo and Juliet for the 21st century. Next: Lady Gaga’s Dancers Quit New Tour After Alleged Mistreatment By Choreographer
