One devastating review of an “SNL” performance said, “This was hip-hop even Mitt Romney could enjoy, though he seems to have a little bit more personality.”

As a staff writer at BuzzFeed, I write about all things celeb, pop culture, and books.

Bandmate Emily Strayer added, "It wasn't that I didn't agree with her 100 percent; it was just, 'Oh, this is going to stir something up.'"

And bandmate Martie Maguire said, "I'd rather have a small following of really cool people who get it, who will grow with us as we grow and are fans for life, than people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith. We don't want those kinds of fans. They limit what you can do."

Following 2006's Taking the Long Way, the Chicks did not release another album until Gaslighter in 2020.

He continued, "You can live a long and healthy life with HIV. Treatment is so advanced that with one pill a day, HIV can become undetectable in your body so you can't pass it onto other people.

Homophobic and HIV mistruths have no place in our society and industry and as musicians, we must spread compassion and love for the most marginalised people in our communities. A musician's job is to bring people together."

In 2014, she told the Telegraph, "There was no therapy and no talking about these things, that was the way it was at the time. I believe that myself and Roseanne Barr were the first so-called victims of abuse to talk about it openly, without being in shadow, and that was quite uncomfortable for people. When you grow up with abuse, you are voiceless, you feel you could die in that house, and no one would ever know, so the voice becomes dreadfully important. It's about standing up for yourself. You can overdo that sometimes when you're an adult."

In 2022, Smash Mouth introduced their new singer,  Zach Goode. The band has continued to make music.

Prior to the lawsuit, Creed released the following apology statement: "The band has heard that you are unhappy with the quality of the recent Creed show in Chicago. We apologize if you don't feel that the show was up to the very high standards set by our previous shows in Chicago. ... There has been much concern about Scott's health, and we want to assure everyone that he is doing very well and is taking a much-needed break at home in Orlando. ...

For now, we hope that you can take some solace in the fact that you definitely experienced the most unique of all Creed shows and may have become part of the unusual world of rock and roll history!"

Between his 2002 car accident and his ventures into fashion and acting, the rest of Creed felt like Scott wasn't prioritizing music anymore. The Chicago show was a breaking point. 

Mark said, "My entire family was at that show, so I was very irritated. But I forgave Scott for it. I talked to him about it, [but he didn't] offer any kind of explanation. That's probably what bothered me the most. There was no closure on it. It was like, 'Let's keep moving on,' and I was like, 'Well, we've got to address these issues,' but we just never did."

Against all odds, Creed reunited in 2009. 

Scott told the Track, "Me and Mark fell in love again. I think that Mark and I – whether we like it or not – were put on this Earth to make music together. Our collaborative relationship brings the best out of me and allows me to pull from a place nothing else can. We were born to do this together." However, they weren't able to recapture the same level of popularity. The band went on hiatus again in 2013, but then, in 2024, they reunited once more.

The band officially parted ways in 2025.

She continued, "And to those fans who are disappointed by what they've heard or think I said, I'm very sorry: I don't always express myself as clearly as I should But don't believe everything you read on facebook or twitter. My view of homosexualty has changed not one iota. I judge not. And my statement equating repeal of Prop 8 with the coming of the End Times was neither literal nor ironic: it was a description of how some folks - not me - feel about gay marriage. The show, and the rant, was spontaneous. As for those applauding my so-called stance that 'God Hates [slur],' I say they should be met with mercy, not hate. And I hope that what remains of my audience will meet that intolerance with understanding, even of those who might hate them. 

Folks wonder about my sexuality, but denying being gay is like saying I never beat my husband. My sexuality is not at issue. What is being questioned is my support for the LGBT community, and that has never wavered. Music and activism have always been part of my work and my journey, which I hope and intend to continue. I'd like to say this was a publicity stunt, but I'm really not that clever, and I'm definitely not that cynical.

But I am damn sorry. If I could repeat the evening, I would make a clearer distinction between a set of beliefs I abhor, and my human sympathy for the folks who hold them. I say this not because I want to look better. I have no wish to hide my faults, and - clearly - I couldn't if I tried."

In a second statement, she added, "I stand accused of forsaking the LGBT community for a Christianity which is – hear me now - anathema to my understanding of faith. ...  To be clear: I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of any so-called faith preaching intolerance of anyone."

She told the Scotsman, "I want to tell the story in Edinburgh about a boldness and audacity. It's not a victory lap, but it is a story of resilience. What is my relationship to the audience coming to see the show? Am I relating to them as if they are all the bootleggers because that's been my experience, or am I relating to them as the people that nurtured and sustained me so that, after being canceled for 13 years, I still have a platform to tell my story? I'm nervous because I don't know who I am talking to."

She never let the backlash stop her from making music, doing movies, or touring the world. While it's hard to say the controversy ruined her career (after all, she's since had two chart-topping albums, 2008's Discipline and 2015's Unbreakable), she never came close to matching her sales figures pre-Nipplegate.