Rocker Tom Petty has said he now regrets using the controversial Confederate flag when he toured with his band The Heartbreakers during the "Southern Accents Tour" 30 years ago.
Petty had used the flag for a brief period during the 80s as a promotional tool when he released his album "Southern Accents" back in 1985, and he explains that the decision was "downright stupid" in an essay he wrote for Rolling Stone.
Petty revealed that it was used for the song called "Rebels," and the moment he used it while performing the song at some of his shows and seeing several audience members wearing merchandise that had the controversial flag in them was the moment he quickly regretted his decision.
Petty stopped one concert to give a speech about his intention to cut his association with the flag completely.
"I said, 'Look, this was to illustrate a character. This is not who we are. Having gone through this, I would prefer it if no one would ever bring a Confederate flag to our shows again because this isn't who we are,'" Petty wrote in his essay, according to The Examiner.
He added: "It got a mixed reaction. There were some boos and some cheers. But honestly, it's a little amazing to me because I never saw one again after that speech in that one town. Fortunately, that went away, but it left me feeling stupid."
Petty also encouraged his fellow southerners and other people to "think about how it looks to a black person."
"Beyond the flag issue, we're living in a time that I never thought we'd see. The way we're losing black men and citizens in general is horrific. What's going on in society is unforgivable," he wrote.
"As a country, we should be more concerned with why the police are getting away with targeting black men and killing them for no reason. That's a bigger issue than the flag," he added, according to Billboard.
