Tucker Max’s visit to Ohio State on Wednesday was marked by its controversy even more than the notorious 33-year-old blogger and writer is used to.
During his speech, one student called him a “literary hero,” lifting her shirt and flashing him, while dozens of others screamed in protest both in and outside of the lecture hall.
The protest was organized by Womyn and Allies Rising in Resistance, whose members accuse Max of promoting a rape culture.
ZACH TUGGLE/THE LANTERNWriter and blogger Tucker Max speaks Monday about the life lessons he learned while living a wild and unconventional life.For the first 30-plus minutes of the event, Max was unable to begin his speech, as every time he tried to, a protester blew a whistle or sounded an air horn. Those who disrupted the event were promptly escorted out by security, to the jeers of the remaining audience. Occasionally, Max would even taunt the protester, much to the delight of his fans.
While the dismissed students continued their protesting outside the doors, Max went on with his speech, but not the speech that his protesters, or even his fans, expected. He spoke about his bestselling book, “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” which he says is about being an individual.
“It’s about living the life you want to live, not the life others push onto you. It’s about being the person you want to be, not the person other people want you to be, and it’s about enjoying the time you have. I convey this message not by preaching it to you, but by showing you how I do it,” he said.
The protesters did manage to stop Max’s “big surprise” that he foreshadowed during an interview last week. He revealed Wednesday that the surprise was going to be an advanced screening of his just-completed movie of the same title as his book, not due for release until fall.
But three days prior to his arrival at OSU, Max was notified by the Ohio Union Activities Board, who sponsored the event, that he would be limited to a speech, as protesters were planning to disrupt the event.
“You can thank those guys right out there,” Max told the audience, pointing to the door at the back of the room, where protest chants could still be heard.
Max said he was happy to give the speech, mostly because he wishes he would have had the advice when he was in college.
For students who thought the advice didn’t apply to them, Max had a strong message.
“You don’t hear this from your parents or your teachers or your friends, because they never tell you the other option. You know why? It’s because they don’t know it exists. They tell you to do what everyone else is doing, they tell you that you have to get a safe job and be like all of them, because that’s what they did!” he said.
“But you don’t have to do that. There is another way. You can make the choice to do what I did. You can’t be Tucker Max, but you can reconsider what you love, then find the courage to commit fully to it.”
Max did have a back-up surprise for the audience. In gratitude of the audience “putting up with” the protesters, he revealed for the first time that his much-anticipated follow-up book will in fact be two separate books released simultaneously in early to mid-2010.
Although it wasn’t Max’s first visit to OSU, it was certainly his most memorable.
“My first visit was when I was in high school and I think I was supposed to go visit a friend. I ended up getting so drunk I didn’t even go out that night and I left the next day,” he said.
Even with the disruptions, Max said he enjoyed his visit to OSU. He promised that Columbus would be part of his 30-city tour for the pre-release of his movie this fall.
Richard Oviatt can be reached at [email protected].
