Kony 2012: Musicians React to Viral Campaign, Invisible Children Controversy

The controversy surrounding Invisible Children's viral Kony2012 video has reached the music world.

While musicians like Stars' Amy Millan and Jill Scott retweeted the link to the 30-minute video, which was produced by the organization Invisible Children with the goal of stopping Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army from kidnapping Ugandan children for army, others artists have said much more.

"Just watched #KONY2012 the video," Amanda Palmer tweeted. "It's about a limited political cause, and it's also about something true-er & bigger."

"Be the Change you want to see," former Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum tweeted. "It is possible!!! 45 million people have watched kony2012.com keep it going..."

Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew tweeted with the video link. "Check out the film. Lets do this. Lets do this. Lets do this. Lets do this. Lets do this."

Heart singer Ann Wilson tweeted: "What Joseph Kony does is horrific. He is a monster who must be stopped in the crusade against human slavery. The children of this world are it's future, and if the world is to be saved so must they be saved from this poisonous, insane madman."

"#kony2012 is about the millennial generation, a generation that intuitively understands where you live shouldn't determine whether you live," Vans Warped Tour organizers tweeted.

"Everyone is talking about #KONY2012 This is important," Simple Plan's Sebastien Lefebvre tweeted. "Coming together is important."

Watch 'Kony 2012' Video
"#KONY2012" Skrillex simply tweeted.

"What if #KONY2012 was the first of many steps toward the evolution of the Human Spirit & we all just fought about it?" Canadian singer Carmen Townsend tweeted. "Let love rule."

However, while others continue to spread the word, some are leery of supporting the organization Invisible Children. A Tumblr post entitled "Kony 2012 Stop at Nothing" describes Invisible Children as "misleading," "naïve" and "dangerous" while criticizing them for not having their financial statements audited independently. The article adds that only 30 percent of all funds "go toward actually helping anyone."

The backlash prompted Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz to defend the organization, which he's worked with before, in a lengthy message entitled "Dear Folks, About the Children."

"Let me say first off, I don't run Invisible Children, so coming to me or any of my current/former band members complaining about it is essentially going to the wrong source. And please, don't backtrack saying you're having a discussion with us. It's as one-sided as this blog post. A spade is a spade (and this 'turn of phrase' predates the racist term 'spade,' so don't try to twist my words)."

"That all being said," he continued, "this is a tricky scenario for me to defend or be against. I realize that the bulk of the criticism comes from the accusations of distorted facts, strengthening the hand of the Ugandan president, and the fact that Kony has split from Uganda."

Stating that there were "completely valid points" on both sides, Wentz concluded the message by saying, "I'm proud to have done the work I've done w/ IC in the past, and I believe the attention they bring to what is going on in Uganda, at the end of the day, is better to exist than us not knowing as much. I also believe that only good can come out of the public debate their video has brought, polarizing as it is."

Perhaps the best advice came from Natalie Maines by showing both sides of the argument. "Be very careful who you send your money to," the Dixie Chicks singer tweeted. "Of course, there's always at least 2 sides to every story," she later tweeted with a link to Invisible Children's reply to the recent accusations.

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