Did Patti Smith punch Ted Nugent on live radio?
In 1967, Patti Smith upped sticks and moved to New York to start a new life, with hopes and dreams of becoming a writer. Here, she met her muse and soulmate, Robert Mapplethorpe, with whom she fell in love before later remaining close friends until his death. Together, they lived in the Chelsea Hotel, mingling with artists and musicians.
Soon, the pair engaged in their own artistic pursuits – Mapplethorpe took up photography, and Smith set her words to music, becoming an icon of the early punk scene. Smith released her debut album, Horses, in 1975, complete with a cover photographed by Mapplethorpe. The album was revolutionary – how often had a woman been given the chance to perform with such rawness and disregard for convention? As The Slits’ Viv Albertine recalled in her memoir, “Up until now, girls have been so controlled and restrained. Patti Smith is abandoned. Her record translates into sound, parts of myself that I could not access, could not verbalise, could not visualise, until this moment.”
Smith has since become an icon of music, poetry, and prose, publishing multiple best-selling books and albums. She has often used her music to fight for the rights of others, most notably, her 1988 track ‘People Have The Power’. Over the years, Smith has written several other protest songs and attended many anti-war rallies and concerts.
In comparison, musicians like Ted Nugent have expressed rather different political stances. He is a proud Republican and has made a number of racist statements over the years. Back in the 1970s, his homophobia and general bigotry landed him in trouble with Smith, who was appearing on the same radio station as him. The result was an altercation that was captured live on air, with Smith reportedly punching Nugent in the stomach.
Nugent was appearing on Lunch with Lubin, during which the host quizzed him on his song ‘Snakeskin Cowboys’. The track, which features lyrics like “Ooh, snakeskin cowboys/ Who the hell you think you are,” and “Just hangin’ around with your fancy pants on/ Ain’t got nothin’ on me,” is, according to Nugent, about “queers”. This provoked Smith, who entered the studio to give Nugent a piece of her mind.
When Nugent sees Smith walk in, he can be heard saying, “Here she is. Have a seat. Patti’s going to make a statement.”
In response, she says, “Out! Out! It’s one o’clock.”
The pair exchange a few bitter lines before Smith can be heard exclaiming, “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! Get your fucking hands off me!”
“Look at this! On the air!” Nugent chimes back, leading the host to press play on Nugent’s ‘Cat Scratch Fever’. When the song ends, the host refers to Smith hitting Nugent “right in the plexus”.
Nugent spoke to Rolling Stone the next year, dishing out further insight into what went down. Apparently, he had joked that he could smell her coming into the studio. He explained, “Patti attacked — ‘Get outta here, Nugent!’ But I just called her all those famous names, like ‘scum goddess’ and ‘sperm-bank queen,’ and she stormed out and came back in with a copy of the Bible. She says, ‘Here, you idiot, read Corinthians!’”
Listen to this incident below.
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