There’s this meme in which the phrase “TOOL mosh pits” is emblazoned across a photo of men in suits playing chess. Get it? Because Tool’s version of metal is, like, intellectual? A teenage aspiring rapper in Italy thought it would be funny to pull off something similar at a MIKE concert, but MIKE and a good chunk of his fan base didn’t much like it.
In a since-deleted TikTok video posted by user @.evaniano, a white teenager can be seen holding a chess board in the front row of MIKE’s show last Saturday at Circolo Magnolia in Milan. The video includes a text overlay reading “MIKE Moshpit.” Again, the idea was apparently to convey the extra-brainy quality of MIKE’s fan base, but that’s not how MIKE received it. To him, it felt like a joke at his own expense and the expense of his culture — a cheap bit delivered during a moment of serious creative expression.
A viral tweet including the TikTok video, captioned “I hate this so much,” gained so much traction on X dot com over the past week that the kid from the video deleted his original TikTok meme and posted an apology. The kid wrote that it wasn’t his intention to mock MIKE and that he paid for a ticket to the show because he’s a big fan. “I’d like to make things as clear as possible: when I posted the video, the drawbacks it would have were far beyond my consideration,” he wrote. “We come from completely different cultures, and being a 16 years-old guy from Italy makes it hard for me to truly understand what this could’ve meant to a lot of people.”
Here’s the full apology:
I’d like to clear up some things about what happened at MIKE’s concert in Milan, because it turns out there’s been a huge misunderstanding about my intentions.
First and foremost, I owe an apology to the man himself, who had an astounding performance and had a fantastic way of keeping us engaged.
It wasn’t my intention to offend or disrespect MIKE in any way, the act of playing chess during a MIKE concert was a reference to a meme that had gone viral on socials about a year ago, and I was sure MIKE would’ve recognized it.
I paid for the ticket to the concert just so I could enjoy the show and genuinely have a great time, MIKE is one of my favorite artists so it would make no sense to just pull up to mock him.
I’d like to make things as clear as possible: when I posted the video, the drawbacks it would have were far beyond my consideration. We come from completely different cultures, and being a 16 years-old guy from Italy makes it hard for me to truly understand what this could’ve meant to a lot of people.
I feel sorry for all the fans that have felt offended.
It was just a friendly joke in my eyes but it turned out to be perceived as a big derogatory attitude towards the artist and his culture.
I take full accountability for this, I now recognize the negative aspect of the act, and I can say I’ve learned an important life lesson.
I’ll ask you to be human and respect my privacy,
Thank you.
Now, in a series of tweets, MIKE has weighed in, expressing light disdain for the ordeal and appreciation for his fan base. His message:
Yea fk dem lil Italian kids Imfaooo, I told them wassup after I finished performing stop worry but I wasn’t bout stop rapping cus they was bein nerds
Also I wasn’t gon discipline no 16 yr olds Imaoo that’s they parents job
But just to reiterate, that shit is not cool. Memes r funny and stuff /but something, at least one thing in yo life gotta be sacred so u kno when to stfu n see when somebody is bein fr
I could never repay yall 4 how sum yal b standing on business behind me mmm that shit mean the world 2 me always, tear worthy
Check out the video, the apology, and MIKE’s response below.
I hate this so much pic.twitter.com/Gf3XJA4v0I
— fuzzy… (@fuzzytincan) March 26, 2025
