Don’t expect to see Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) backstage at a Nine Inch Nails concert anytime soon.
The rock group’s frontman, Trent Reznor, reportedly told the audience at a show in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday that Cruz has asked to be placed on the guest list for the gig ― but Reznor told him to “fuck off.”
Video shared to Reddit showed Reznor asking for the lights in The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory to be turned up so he could check the crowd for people “who voted” for Cruz in the 2018 midterms, per The Hill.
“Raise your hand, you guys, nothing to be ashamed of, alright just checking,” he said.
Cruz “might be here tonight,” Reznor said. “He was bugging to get on the guest list, and I told him to fuck off.”
Reznor then claimed Cruz had attended one of their shows as a VIP “several years ago” but “drank all the beer, and was just a pain in the ass to be around.”
It’s unclear if Reznor was joking, or if Cruz ended up attending Tuesday’s gig as a paying customer.
Cruz responded Thursday night on Twitter, and denied asking for a guest list pass ― claiming Nine Inch Nails was “not my music taste.”
Reznor has previously called President Donald Trump, who supported Cruz’s election bid against Democratic rival Beto O’Rourke, “a complete fucking moron.”
This article has been updated with Cruz’s comment and tweet.