Pat Benatar Reveals She Will No Longer Play “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” In Light of Mass Shootings

Pat Benatar has reportedly cut one of her biggest songs from her tour setlist, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” The change was made as a show of respect for the victims of mass shootings.

During an interview with USA Today, Benatar noted that she and her band have what she referred to as the “holy 14,” which are songs that “if we don’t play them, you’ll give us [a hard time].” Arguably her biggest song, “Hit Me With Your Best” shot is usually among the ranks of those 14, but it will no longer be featured in her live show.

“Fans are having a heart attack and I’m like, I’m sorry, in deference to the victims of the families of these mass shootings, I’m not singing it,” Benatar said. “I tell them, if you want to hear the song, go home and listen to it. [The title] is tongue-in-cheek, but you have to draw the line. I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can’t. I’m not going to go on stage and soapbox — I go to my legislators — but that’s my small contribution to protesting. I’m not going to sing it. Tough.”

Benatar has tour dates scheduled throughout the summer while she and her husband and musical collaborator Neil Giraldo are gearing up for the world premiere of their musical, Invincible. The show pulls from musicians’ catalogs for a contemporary take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The show will play at the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills, California, between November 22 and December 17.

Benatar is also slated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this year, alongside Eminem, Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, Lionel Richie, Eurythmics, and Carly Simon. The induction ceremony will take place on November 5 at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.