Dee Snider

Daniel "Dee" Snider is an American singer, songwriter, media personality and actor, best known as the frontman and vocalist of the heavy metal band.

Born to a retired state trooper of Ukrainian Jewish descent and a Catholic mother of Swiss descent, Snider rose to prominence when he joined Twisted Sister alongside founding member Jay Jay French (born John Segall) and a few others who eventually formed the classic lineup: Jay Jay French (guitars), Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda (guitars), Dee Snider (lead vocals), Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (bass), and A. J. Pero (drums) in 1982. Snider, through his band, since became the bane of parents, watchdog groups and religious organisations everywhere who took offence at the band's music and stage image, seeking to stem the tide through censorship regulation of potentially offensive music.

Pissing off the Gores
Alarmed by the rise of rock and metal, Tipper Gore, wife of then-senator and later Vice President Al Gore, formed the Parents Music Resource Center along with the so-called "Washington Wives": Susan Baker, wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker; Pam Howar, wife of Washington realtor Raymond Howar; and Sally Nevius, wife of former Washington City Council Chairman John Nevius. While Mrs. Gore did not condemn rock music altogether, she through her organization voiced her objection to the transgressive nature of metal music and sought the regulation of it through advisory labels warning parents of potentially objectionable content such as sex, substance abuse, violence and occultism e.g. Satanism.

Snider, alongside fellow musicians Frank Zappa and John Denver, testified in opposition to the proposed "Parental Advisory" label. In a privilege speech, Snider donned his usual rocker getup unlike his contemporaries who dressed for the occasion, and delivered an eloquent speech explaining his situation, testifying that he, like most of the parents who are concerned about his band's music and image, is a practising Christian, a father and a teetotaller, also debunking any and all spurious claims Tipper Gore made about Twisted Sister, particularly perceived "sadomasochistic" content in "Under The Blade" and violence in "We're Not Gonna Take It"; the song is more about standing up to oppression rather than the violent themes the PMRC alleged, with Snider attesting to the song's use by organisations in their advocacy campaigns; the music video was simply a live-action pastiche of the  cartoons of yore as was standard with Twisted Sister's videos.

While the label was eventually implemented, Snider's seemingly flippant and irreverent yet otherwise clever show of professionalism made the Gores and the rest of the PMRC look like utter fools compared to the supposed malevolent rock and metal figures parents groups sought to suppress. And while Tipper and Al's relationship ended in a divorce and their son was twice arrested for marijuana possession, the Snider family is proud to say that Dee and his wife are happily married and "none of my kids have been busted."

Cross-dressing, libtard, tree hugging half-Jew
Twisted Sister's signature song is arguably the rock anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It" (besides "I Wanna Rock", but that's beyond our scope so move along). Snider has voiced his approval of its use as a battle cry by those who stood up to oppression, from teenage rebels pissed off at their parents' excessive policing of their lifestyles, to advocacy groups and as a political rally song; that said, Snider also took offence at those who misappropriated his band's song for less-than-stellar goals, such as in 2022 when he took to Twitter with a strongly-worded rant at alt-right groups, stating "ATTENTION QANON, MAGAT FASCISTS: Every time you sing "We're Not Gonna Take It" remember it was written by a cross-dressing, libtard, tree hugging half-Jew who HATES everything you stand for. It was you and people like you that inspired every angry word of that song! SO FUCK OFF!" Owing to his Ukrainian Jewish heritage, he also gave his blessing to the people of Ukraine who used the song as a call against oppression during the Russian invasion of the country in 2022.

Snider was known for his (erstwhile) friendship with Donald Trump, though they had a falling out due to ideological differences especially during Trump's campaign in 2016 where he used Twisted Sister's signature song as a campaign jingle.

What were we smoking again?
In a 2021 video, Snider shilled for what he terms as "plant medicines", particularly the herbal psychedelic Ayahuasca, while maintaining that, as with his PMRC testimony, he is to this day a teetotaller unlike most of his metal contemporaries.

I stand for trans people, but...
In an open letter he posted on Facebook in 2023, he refuted claims of transphobia by some who took offence at his (unwitting) support for KISS member Paul Stanley's controversial statement on the issue of whether transgender children should be allowed to decide definitively on their gender identity until they're mature enough to make a crucial choice in their lives. Some have called to question this opinion of his, but he assured the LGBTQIA+ community that he is standing for their cause, though he prefers not to take an absolutist stance on issues surrounding them – as a self-described moderate he owns both a Tesla and a Hummer, owns too many guns yet is in favor of "intelligent gun control", has four children and supports abortion. Nevertheless he parted ways with the San Francisco Pride organisation following the controversial statement, further clarifying that Snider's gaffe with them was a "teachable moment" on Snider's part.