If you know anything about Joan Baez, you know she's been serious about her activism for decades. The folk legend spent much of her time walking the walk just as much as talking the talk. Her songs were reflective of the real protests she would attend, the genuine support she'd give for people fighting back against oppression. This extends even into Joan's older age too. At 84 years old, she's still vocal as ever about the problems she sees in America. After the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Joan finds herself back in the spotlight. Consequently, she's taking the platforms to express her issues with the country.
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Recently, Baez appeared on the debut of John Mulaney's new Netflix series Everybody's Live With John Mulaney. There, she tells her fair share of stories, one in particular about Martin Luther King Jr. However, Joan also finds it important to set the groundwork with some context of what she thinks about the state of America right now. In her usual fashion, she doesn't mince words. "You said I could say anything I want out here," she prefaces. "We're all here to be silly and have fun, and as long as we recognize the fact that our democracy is going up in flames... we're being run by a bunch of really incompetent billionaires."
Joan Baez Says American Democracy is 'Going Up in Flames'
Baez doesn't explicitly mention Donald Trump and Elon Musk. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who she's alluding to on the show. Ever the observant comedian, Mulaney quips about Joan driving a Tesla. However, she does relent that she used to own one at her assistant's suggestion. However, it didn't take long for her to regret it.
"I hated that thing," Baez says. "But I thought I was supposed to like it. So I drove off in it. Within 45 minutes I had smashed it into an oak tree on my property... I was thinking, 'That's a sign.'"
Not long afterwards, Joan pawned it off for something much more her speed. "I hated it," Baez adds. "It was too big... I sold it and got one-half the amount of money I paid for."
