Alice Cooper predicted the next U.S. President would be “worse” than current incumbent Donald Trump, while arguing that musicians talking politics to their fans was an “abuse of power.”

The shock-rock icon drew a distinction between making political statements with the intention of encouraging people to support a particular viewpoint, and using a platform to assist with humanitarian work.

“I don’t like to mix politics and rock ’n’ roll,” Cooper told the Guardian in a new interview. However, he continued: “I don’t look at Bono, Sting and Bruce Springsteen as political. I look at them as being humanitarian, helping people who can’t help themselves. But when musicians are telling people who to vote for, I think that’s an abuse of power. You’re telling your fans not to think for themselves, just to think like you. Rock ’n’ roll is about freedom – and that’s not freedom.”

He added: “I want my shows to take you as far away as possible from politics. It’s supposed to be an escape from the world we’re living in. And you know the next president is going to be worse than Trump, right?”

In the same interview, Cooper hailed his parents for having offered him all the support they could in pursuing his musical ambitions. “My family had no problem with rock ’n’ roll. My parents were actually champion jitter-buggers in their day,” he said. “It was the lifestyle they were concerned about: The drugs, the sleeping around – and they had a point. It was only when I got sober and had seen all my friends die that I realized they had a point. I’m making the best records I’ve ever made and my health is fantastic. I didn’t need that other stuff.”

He described his mother as a “tiger,” explaining: “She’s 95 and is my biggest fan. If you say anything bad about Alice Cooper, she’ll be on top of you. I was lucky to get the parents I did.”
 
 

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