Michelle Shocked tries to explain herself

Hard to know if Michelle Shocked was misunderstood or if she’s trying to do damage control.

She’s lost nearly a dozen bookings in the days following an onstage rant against gay marriage during a gig in San Francisco.

According to people there she said:  ‘I live in fear that the world will be destroyed if gays are allowed to marry.’ She then said to the crowd: ‘You can go on Twitter and say, ‘Michelle Shocked says God hates fags.’”

in a lengthy statement today, Shocked says she is not anti-gay and that her comments were misunderstood.

Here’s the full statement and you can judge for yourself – there is no video of the incident:

‘I do not, nor have I ever, said or believed that God hates homosexuals (or anyone else). I said that some of His followers believe that.’

‘I’m very sorry,’ she says. ‘I don’t always express myself as clearly as I should. My view of homosexuality has changed not one iota. I judge not. And my statement equating repeal of Prop 8 with the coming of the End Times was neither literal nor ironic: it was a description of how some folks – not me – feel about gay marriage.’

She adds: ‘The show, and the rant, was spontaneous. As for those applauding my so-called stance that ‘God Hates F****ts,’ I say they should be met with mercy, not hate. And I hope that what remains of my audience will meet that intolerance with understanding, even of those who might hate them.’

‘What is being questioned is my support for the LGBT community, and that has never wavered,’ she also says. ‘Music and activism have always been part of my work and my journey, which I hope and intend to continue. I am damn sorry.’

She concludes by saying: ‘If I could repeat the evening, I would make a clearer distinction between a set of beliefs I abhor, and my human sympathy for the folks who hold them. I say this not because I want to look better. I have no wish to hide my faults, and – clearly – I couldn’t if I tried.’