A rumor that circulated online in October 2025 claimed Aerosmith lead vocalist Steven Tyler blasted what he labeled as the "woke agenda," refusing to wear a rainbow-themed patch in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
According to the story, Tyler's decision occurred prior to a primetime appearance, and possibly involved a "Pride Night" event. Snopes readers emailed and searched for answers about this claim, with one reader sending a message with a screenshot of a Facebook post. The user emailed, "Rumor spreading like wildfire in regards to rockstar Steven Tyler by a fan group on Facebook."
That post (archived), appearing on the Rock Steven Fans Facebook page on Oct. 3, had more than 300,000 positive reactions. The post promoted the claim with a quote meme, text caption and external link to an advertisement-filled article. The meme claimed Tyler said, "I won't bow to any woke agenda — not today, not ever. No patch, no slogan, no pressure from the league or the media will ever change what I stand for. My values aren't negotiable, and I refuse to compromise who I am just to fit in."
(Rock Steven Fans/Facebook)
Other users also shared this matter on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), LinkedIn (archived), Threads (archived), Truth Social (archived) and X (archived).
We found this false rumor displayed common signs of a fabricated story that users promote on Facebook in order to make money from ads displayed on an external website.
Searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo found no news media outlets reporting about Tyler refusing to wear a rainbow-themed patch or issuing remarks in opposition to a "woke agenda." Prominent outlets would have widely reported this rumor, if true.
Rather, whoever authored the story made up the entire matter as one of hundreds of inspirational tales that depicted celebrities and athletes making bold statements involving politics. Those people who fabricated the story, including with the use of artificial-intelligence tools, aimed to earn ad revenue on the articles linked from some of the aforementioned posts.
We contacted a Tyler representative by email to obtain official confirmation of the false rumor, as well as a manager of Rock Steven Fans via Messenger to ask about the purpose of their Facebook page, and will update this article if we receive more information.
More details about the rumor
An examination of the Rock Steven Fans Facebook page found its "page transparency" tab displayed managers in Pakistan and Vietnam. Also, the page's posts, and their linked articles hosted on external websites, exhibited signs of AI-generated images and text.
For example, the aforementioned article ended in the same way AI-created stories often conclude — with a forward-thinking, inspirational tone. The article ended as follows:
The rainbow patch may have been a small piece of fabric, but it stitched together one of the most polarizing cultural moments of the year. Steven Tyler's refusal has divided fans, shaken Nashville, and ignited national headlines.
For some, it cements his place as a rebel unwilling to bow to the pressures of political correctness. For others, it marks a heartbreaking fall from grace, a reminder that even legends can stumble when confronted with the evolving values of the world they helped shape.
Whether seen as brave or reckless, one fact remains undeniable: Steven Tyler still knows how to make the world stop and pay attention. And in music, as in life, silence has never been his style.
As for images, a different post on the Rock Steven Fans Facebook page showed Tyler and late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel shouting at each other, with both men displaying overly-smooth skin — one of many signs of AI-generated images. Another post with AI-created images depicted Tyler playing a guitar at musician Phil Collins' hospital bedside.
For further reading, Snopes previously reported on a story claiming Tyler invited an elderly woman onstage to sing at a concert.