Tila Tequila Bottled at the Gathering of the Juggalos

by John M. Ellison IV

You ever hear something where you just knew that it wasn’t going to go well? I mean, you just knew the results were going to end badly? Kind of like Lil’ Wayne rocking or Brian Pumper trying to rap…well here’s another one, Myspace model Tila Tequila performing at the “Gathering of the Juggalos.”

For those who aren’t aware, a “Juggalo” is a fan of “the most hated band in the world,” Insane Clown Posse. “Wait, you mean the two guys in clown makeup with ‘wack’ lyrics?” “Yes, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope.” Now you’re probably asking “How would I know this?” Simple answer, because I was a fan of the group in my younger years and still to some extent a fan now. But, I’m not as much of a fan of their music (more of the older Mike E. Clark-era) and more a fan of their business model. *Shock* “How could you be a fan? You’re not some white trash wigger idiot!” Yeah, I hate to tell you guys but not all juggalos are a bunch of dimwitted, violent, white trash, cheap soda drinking jackasses with face paint who run around going “woop woop” all the time…well, not all of them at least; “Ass Dan” doesn’t represent all of us, just a contingent.

“Juggalos?” “Gathering of the Whats?” “Ass Huh?”…What are you talking about? For some reason, I imagined that last string of questions in a Don Knotts voice. But I digress…Now to explain what “The Gathering of the Juggalos” is.

The Gathering of the Juggalos (The Gathering or GOTJ) is an annual underground musical festival put on by record label Psychopathic Records. This event features performances by the entire label as well as numerous well-known musical groups and underground artists that the fan base expresses interest in. It was founded by Robert Bruce, Insane Clown Posse (Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler), and their label in 2000. The Gathering has featured bands of a variety of genres within hip hop and rock, though the majority of the acts perform horrorcore and hardcore hip hop, similar to that of Psychopathic Records artists.

The event has been described by Joseph Bruce as a “Juggalo Woodstock”, the Gathering of the Juggalos spans four days and includes concerts, wrestling, games, contests, autograph sessions, and seminars with artists. It is regarded highly by the Juggalo fan base, and is commonly referred to as a “family reunion” of sorts by the fans.

Now, I haven’t been to the gathering myself but speaking from someone who understands juggalo point of view, I have to ask…”Seriously, what the fuck was Tila Tequila doing at the Gathering in the first place?” Look, I know juggalos can have less than popular/underground etc. taste in music, especially rap wise. But seriously even her there rapping was a horrible idea…even by juggalo standards!” I knew her being booked to perform wasn’t going to end on a good note because of the potential of the unofficial term known as “The Bubba Sparxxx Award.”

Here’s a copy of Tequila’s twitter feed counting down to the incident

“Whoohoo! On my way to airport!!! Can’t wait to perform at the concert
tonight!!! Holla Juggalos and Juggalettes!!! Lol
3:08 PM Aug 13th via UberTwitter

Just landed in Chicago!! Almost Time for the Juggalos Gathering!!
Woohoo! Wut yall doin?
8:30 PM Aug 13th via UberTwitter

Touchdown!! I’m finally here! Tom Green was on my flight cuz he will
be doing a show at the Juggalos too! Then we got engaged! Haha! #4real
12:28 AM Aug 14th via UberTwitter

Headed to the Juggalos Gathering right now!! Woohoo!! Gonna be fucking
insane!!!! Holllaaa juggalos! Ya girl luvs ya!
2:43 AM Aug 14th via UberTwitter

Insane Klown Posse bitches and shout out to my boys, Kotton Mouth Kings!
3:08 AM Aug 14th via UberTwitter

Lil Kim also performing tonight!! Woohoo! This is gonna be so fun!! I
bought a TON of cool shit that imma spray at the crowd!!! Lol!
3:52 AM Aug 14th via UberTwitter
Thank you everyone for your support. The people at Juggalos behavior
was disgusting and I am filing a suit against Them now. Thanks 4 ur luv
5:15 PM Aug 14th via web

Pretty soon the owners who run the Juggalos will be bankrupt. My
attorney Alan is already on it. This is disgusting behavior from men.
5:31 PM Aug 14th via UberTwitter

Understand, I wasn’t there at “the Gathering” but understanding the subculture, I figured out what happened and caused the reaction…

The juggalo subculture has a disdain of pop music, MTV etc. and whatever doesn’t cater to the more underground taste. Taste in this case being nu-metal, rap-rock, gangsta rap, heavy metal, pro wrestling and pretty much whatever Spin, Village Voice, Rolling Stone etc. mocks or considers “anti-intellectual trash.” In this case, artists who insult the bands within the subculture and insult elements of the culture aren’t welcome.

Some Juggalos at times can be quite a rowdy bunch and due to the actions of some, juggalos have been labeled as a gang in some states. This actually causes a misrepresentation of others fans of the group who have nothing to do with criminal activities.

Ignorance of the subculture and being a “poser” can be dangerous. For example, misspelling the band’s name and still acting like you’re a fan has potential to be dangerous for anyone regarding this group or within the juggalo realm.

Now, as an exception to the “pop” culture or pop music, artists who are genuine fans of the group within the subculture or enjoy parts of the subculture are very welcomed with open arms and gain career long and lifelong fans.

“The Bubba Sparxxx Award” is a term given to any group that is unwanted and annoys the audience and will get things thrown at the stage and bottled while performing. For example, In 2002, rapper Bubba Sparxxx during a performance at The “Gathering of the Juggalos” was bottled and heckled and left the stage for obvious reasons during his set. Ever since then, the term has become a part of the lexicon.

To be fair, this occurrence of what we know as “bottling” isn’t exclusive to the juggalo subculture. In fact, in 2004 at the popular “Reading and Leeds Festival” in the UK, rapper 50 Cent was bottled during a performance for 20 minutes by fans who attended the festival. The Reading Festival which catered to indie, alternative but more “cerebral” taste didn’t want a rapper of his caliber there.

With this being known by fans, I’m guessing she didn’t know or wasn’t aware of the potential of her getting this infamous “award.”

To clarify, do I advocate what happened to Tila Tequila? Not all all. Did I expect something like that to go down? Yes. Should she have been there in the first place? No. What were Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope thinking? No idea.

Update: Violent J (real name Joe Bruce) warned her not to go on stage because of the rumor of a potential attack but she didn’t take his advice.

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