In April of 1978, 16-year-old me and some of my friends drove to Des Moines, Iowa. There we went into the old Veterans Memorial Auditorium to see one of the landmark rock & roll shows of all time, the Alice Cooper School's Out For Summer '78 show. It was an amazing bit; the Godfather of Shock Rock in his earlier days, bringing enormous energy, some really groovy special effects, and Cooper's own brand of wonderful weirdness to the stage. I don't remember what the tickets cost, but I'm sure it was worth every penny.

So, imagine my bemusement to see that now, 45 years later, Cooper is in the news for stating the obvious about the transgender fad and losing an endorsement over it.

Vampyre Cosmetics has decided to cut ties with shock rock legend Alice Cooper after his comments blasting transgenderism as a "fad" went public in an interview published by Stereogum journalist Rachel Brodsky last week.

"In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration. We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. All pre-order sales will be refunded," the company wrote in a statement posted to social media on Friday.

All cosmetics associated with the partnership were also scrubbed from Vampyre's website.

What was Cooper's crime?

Cooper, notorious for his dramatic makeup and shocking performances, pushed back against woke ideology in multiple forms during the Stereogum interview, sounding the alarm over gender-affirming care for minors, allowing biological males to use women's restrooms and even "woke" ideology in general.

"I’m understanding that there are cases of transgender, but I’m afraid that it’s also a fad, and I’m afraid there’s a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that," Cooper said. 

"I find it wrong when you’ve got a six-year-old kid who has no idea. He just wants to play, and you’re confusing him telling him, ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want to be.’"

Mr. Cooper, of course, isn't wrong about the faddishness of many of the transgender activists, nor is he wrong to be concerned about the long-term effects this had on kids advised or even encouraged to undergo life-altering elective treatments.

One would think, though, that the loss of this deal won't really affect Mr. Cooper all that much. After a career in rock & roll that has spanned over half a century, Vincent Damon Furnier (Cooper) has overcome major substance abuse issues, and unlike a lot of performers, with only a few exceptions, Cooper has kept his political opinions to himself - although he apparently leans right. 

Here's the thing: Cooper has shown himself to be a man of some conviction. He has overcome personal adversity, maintained his status in the music industry for decades, produced a long string of best-selling albums and hit songs, and made fans happy from the time the Baby Boomers were young to today's Gen Z. He almost certainly has "screw-you money" and the loss of this contract really isn't going to make much difference, and certainly should not cause him to change his opinions.

Yes, Cooper put on a great show back in '78. Every year after, my buddies and I went to that show on the last day of school every summer, and we'd cruise our cars and pickups up and down the road in front of the school, blasting Cooper's School's Out as loud as our under-dash cassette decks and 20-oz car speakers would go. He was and is a giant, an icon of rock, one of the all-time greats, and as my colleague Jerry Wilson has noted, he's still cranking out great tunes. If a picayune little outfit like "Vampyre Cosmetics" tries to push him around, well, that probably isn't going to end up the way they think it will.

If the howler monkeys of the Left continue to come after Alice Cooper, I would only refer him to one of his own greatest tunes: