David Crosby called “unkind schmuck” for criticising fan’s artwork

David Crosby has been called an “unkind schmuck” for criticising a fan’s caricature depiction of him.

  • READ MORE: Swift vs Albarn, Morrissey vs Marr and Young vs Spotify: dissecting pop’s Beef Week

The founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash was blunt in his response to fan DJB Sackett, who had shared his work with Crosby as a “thank you for the music”.

Crosby responded to Sackett’s tweet, which shows the artwork in question. “That is the weirdest painting of me I have ever seen. Don’t quit your day job,” he wrote earlier in July.

Advertisement

The musician has since received backlash from people supporting Sackett and his art. One social media user wrote: “This is the weirdest reaction to a fan trying to do something nice I have ever seen. Don’t quit your day job, David Crosby… but maybe stop being an unkind schmuck on Twitter.”

Another person tweeted: “David Crosby’s shitty attitude towards a fan who took time to create a piece of fan art highlights a very real issue, that many people in similar positions as him don’t care about hurting others. Don’t let a decrepit voice like his stop you from sharing your authentic selves.”

Sackett, meanwhile, wrote the following in response to Crosby’s scathing review. “After yesterday’s somewhat lively discussion on subjectivity in art appreciation, I’d just like to say thank you to all the new followers and those who took the time to leave comments. Best wishes.”

It’s not the first time that Crosby has been embroiled in some controversy online.

Advertisement

When Crosby was asked on Twitter last year to respond to Phoebe Bridgers’ decision to wreck a Danelectro guitar during her debut SNL performance, he made it clear that he wasn’t at all impressed.

“Pathetic”, he wrote, one day after writing: “Guitars are for playing ..making music”, adding that he really does “NOT give a flying F if others have done it before…It’s still STUPID.”

In response, Bridgers labelled Crosby “a little bitch”.

Crosby, Stills & Nash
Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and David Crosby of Crosby, Stills & Nash perform live in 2015. CREDIT: Nick Pickles/Redferns

In other news, the music of Crosby, Stills and Nash is back on Spotify after the musicians initially removed all of their music earlier this year in solidarity with Neil Young.

The band joined a growing number of acts in February who demanded that their music be removed from Spotify amid the COVID controversy involving Joe Rogan.

Elsewhere, earlier this year, Crosby – who also performs solo – offered young creatives a stark message, saying “don’t become a musician”.

In an interview Crosby was asked what message he would give to new musical creatives. He replied: “Don’t become a musician.” The reason he gave was largely due to streaming royalties.