It all started with a tweet.
Canadian country stars Brett Kissel and Dallas Smith – and their respective fans – got into a war of words after the latter tweeted about concertgoers in Dawson Creek who were behaving badly.
Following his show at Encana Events Centre in the northeast B.C. town on Tuesday night, Smith tweeted: “Tonight, I got to watch girls and guys punching, pulling hair, groping girls. Disgusting Dawson Creek. Most fans were great. Others ruined it. Grow the f**k up.”
Some people missed Smith’s assertion that “most fans were great” and viewed his tweet as a condemnation of the entire community. One woman went so far as to accuse the singer of “deeming us all disgusting.” (Smith’s response: “You’re what’s wrong with social media.”)
Dawson Creek mayor Dale Bumstead addressed the situation. “My heart, my stomach, my body hurts when someone makes a discouraging comment about our city,” he wrote in a message on Facebook. “Reputation IS everything … Very sad day for me right now.”
Smith followed up on Wednesday morning with a message for the outraged. “So before everyone gets their undies in a knot, here’s the deal,” the “Tippin’ Point” singer wrote. “Clearly there’s an issue with certain fans that go to shows in Dawson Creek. This wasn’t just at my show from what I’ve gathered. ‘Most fans were great.’ Your town is beautiful. Now start holding those trying to ruin it accountable instead of being ‘offended’ by a guy clearly upset at watching it happen. As you were.”
As folks in Dawson Creek seethed, Kissel saw an opportunity. He tweeted: “Dear Dawson Creek: Your city is great. Don’t let some hair pulling idiots at a concert or a foolish tweet ruin your spirits or ruin your reputation. I’ve been there many times and love your community. See you March 10th!”
Kissel went further, offering Smith a lesson in tweeting. "If the tweet was: 'Dear Security at _____ event. I feel awful for the _____ people who were assaulted. Do a better job protecting them.' But that didn't happen. The entire TOWN was told to grow the F up," he shared on Twitter.
"Calling out the actions of some idiots – makes sense to me," Kissel added. "This could have been handled way better. I'm standing up for the town."
Canadian country artist Andrew Hyatt weighed in. "You realize you just belittled sexual assault / assault to sell tickets right ? #greasy," he tweeted.
Smith, too, was not impressed.
“Dear Brett Kissel fans: I was standing up to the groping, sucker punches and assaults on concert goers,” he tweeted. “This says a lot about Brett’s character. Nice to see its finally coming to light. Brett: Didn’t you just play @WeMovement? F**king act like it. It’s not all about social #’s.”
Oh, snap.
Kissel fired back: “And now this whole thing gets blown out of proportion. My goodness – what a situation! I will admit – that it is sad how @Dallassmith’s original words and now my reply have been misinterpreted to a degree by so many.
“This is NOT team @Dallassmith vs. team @BrettKissel guys. There’s plenty of room for both of us, and our fan bases to coexist. It unfortunately got too heated too fast.”
Here's hoping Smith and Kissel will settle things the Canadian way – by lacing up their skates for some one-on-one.
