Some Spring-Nuts members backed Springsteen’s pro-El-Sayed comments, but not Chaz and his wife Julie. It appears the musician’s recent trend of anti-Trump concert material opened rifts between participants and administrators, but an Asbury Park Press article suggests this midterm election cycle—and Chaz’s dislike for El-Sayed and the politician’s association with social media personality Hasan Piker—was the final straw. “Mr. Sayed campaigned with Hasan Piker who openly made horrific statements that America deserved 9/11,” Chaz said. “After a Michigan synagogue was attacked back in March, obviously an act of terrorism, Sayed rationalized it by saying ‘Hurt people hurt people’ standing right next to the antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker who made the despicable 9/11 statement.”
Springsteen’s support of El-Sayed is just his sixth public political endorsement this century (and his first-ever non-presidential candidate endorsement), following John Kerry in 2004, Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Hilary Clinton in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020, and Kamala Harris in 2024. When he announced his Land of Hopes and Dreams Tour in February, Springsteen said, “We are living through dark, disturbing and dangerous times, but do not despair—the cavalry is coming. We will be rocking your town in celebration and in defense of America—American democracy, American freedom, our American Constitution and our sacred American dream—all of which are under attack by our wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington, D.C.”
Chaz told the Asbury Park Press that Spring-Nuts administrators found it harder to uphold an ethical online community once Springsteen took more public stances against Donald Trump and the GOP. “How could we be a Bruce Springsteen fan community trying to protect that harmony and camaraderie and ignore messages and statements coming directly from the very artist who brought us all together?” Chaz, who found Springsteen’s El-Sayed endorsement to be “deeply disappointing to us, given our concerns as proud Jews,” said, “We certainly don’t believe Bruce intended for his message to make fans feel unwelcome. But very unfortunately, some of his fans appointed themselves the gatekeepers of who was and wasn’t worthy of belonging in the E Street community.”
Spring-Nuts will rebrand as a group focused on general music topics, and the group’s podcast will change its name. Chaz and his wife shared on Facebook, “One thing we want to make absolutely clear is that Julie and I can NEVER thank Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band enough for the decades of music, memories, inspiration, and absolute JOY they have brought into our lives.” They continued, “Bruce has been, and always will be, an enormous part of our personal story and journey. His music has been the soundtrack to so many of the most meaningful moments of our lives, and through Spring-Nuts, it opened doors, created opportunities, and introduced us to extraordinary people and experiences we could never have imagined.”
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