Frank Carter Removes Concertgoer from Sex Pistols Show Over Women-Only Mosh Pit Dispute

Frank Carter had a male audience member ejected from a Sex Pistols concert after the individual challenged the frontman’s decision to designate a women-only mosh pit during the performance.

The confrontation occurred on Friday, October 9, at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado, as Carter prepared to introduce the designated space ahead of the song “No Feelings.” Throughout the band’s current North American tour, Carter has routinely reserved a section of the floor for women and non-binary attendees to mosh safely. Video footage from the Denver show captures a man in the crowd interrupting Carter as he explained the initiative.

“Every time, there’s always a fucking man that tells me, ‘[Women] can do this all the fucking time,'” Carter addressed the heckler. “Like, they can’t. They fucking can’t. Do you know why? Because they walk in the mosh pit and they get a fucking elbow to the head by a fucking idiot!”

When the man appeared to shake his head in disagreement, Carter intensified his rebuke. “You’re shaking your head like you’re a fucking woman? Are you fucking stupid? It’s not your lived experience, so just shut the fuck up! Do you know what, instead of crouching, just fucking leave, bro!”

Carter continued, challenging the attendee’s perspective: “How is it so difficult for you to see space made for women at a Sex Pistols gig? Did you decide? No! They can’t fucking do this whenever. Ask any one of them if they feel safe in every mosh pit! Roll your fucking eyes at me — you fucking did this. You did this!”

The concertgoer then reportedly referenced the venue’s all-gender restroom as a counterpoint. Carter responded sarcastically: “That’s brilliant. I’m fucking super grateful that there’s an all-gender bathroom here. I love that.” Visibly frustrated, he struck his microphone against his head, adding, “That’s what it’s like. Banging your fucking head off a brick wall.”

Although Carter initially attempted to pivot and address the broader male audience regarding their responsibility to protect the designated space, further interruptions prompted him to summon security. “Oi, security, just get this fucking lump outta here,” he directed, before telling the man, “And you know what? If you’ve got a fucking problem with me, you can see me outside after the gig.”

Once the individual was removed, Carter resumed his explanation, telling women in the crowd that the pit was intended to provide an opportunity to dance without fear of being hit, groped, or intimidated, before launching into “No Feelings.”

The following day, Carter reinforced his position in a series of Instagram Stories. “If you are a man who gets offended by a band making room for a female only moshpit then you are PART OF THE PROBLEM,” he wrote. “Stay home, read a book by Bell Hooks, come back when kindness, compassion and empathy have landed with you. Incels, homophobes, misogynists, racists, fascists not welcome. Also this isn’t up for debate. I don’t care for your pedantry. If it isn’t your lived experience, don’t fucking speak on it. If you are offended by being told something isn’t for you then imagine how it feels to be a woman in the current climate.”

Carter also clarified that the designated area is trans-inclusive. “When I say a Ladies only moshpit pit, I of course mean a trans inclusionary space,” he stated. “The space is for people who don’t usually feel safe… To dance and have fun without the worry of physical, sexual or psychological violence being used against them while they are vulnerable. DO NOT LET THEM DIVIDE US.”

Additionally, Carter shared a message reportedly sent by the ejected man’s father, who apologized for his son’s behavior, stating it did not reflect how he was raised. The father noted that the man’s sisters were also upset with him and attributed his actions to the influence of misinformation.

Creating women-only mosh pits has been a longstanding practice for Carter. In a 2019 interview with NME, he described it as “100 per cent something that the band will do forever,” calling it “just the happiest mosh pit you’ve ever seen.”

Carter first joined original Sex Pistols members Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock for a series of benefit shows at London’s Bush Hall in 2024, and the collaboration has continued since. The current North American tour dates were originally scheduled for the previous year but were postponed after Jones suffered a broken wrist. The group is set to return to the UK and Ireland in December for their “50 Years Of Punk” tour.

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