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    Staind’s Aaron Lewis Draws Attention With New ‘Not Brainwashed’ Tour Merch Ahead Of 2026 Run

    SenecaBy 312 Comments3 Mins Read
    The Mosh Network - Staind's Aaron Lewis' "Not Brainwashed" shirt 2026

    Aaron Lewis, frontman of Staind, remains politically outspoken in 2026, continuing a long-running pattern of commentary that spans both his music career and public appearances with his country project The Stateliners.

    Over the past decade, Lewis has frequently criticized left-wing political figures and policies through both his lyrics and interviews. He has also remained an open supporter of current U.S. President Donald Trump, while voicing criticism of COVID-19 vaccinations and aligning himself with a range of right-leaning political viewpoints.

    In a 2024 interview discussing his political shift, Lewis explained how age, responsibility, and cultural changes influenced his perspective.

    “I can’t say that I was always a conservative. I mean, when you’re younger, it’s more about… There’s an old saying that when you’re young, if you’re not a liberal, you don’t have a heart. And then when you’re older, if you’re still a liberal, you don’t have a brain. Or something to that effect.”

    He added that becoming older and taking on family responsibilities played a major role in his outlook.

    “What happened was is that I got older and responsibilities came into play and having a family and having a home that I had to take care of.”

    Lewis also pointed to broader societal and technological shifts as shaping his views.

    “I’m gonna be 52 years old. I’ve been around for the entire metamorphosis of this country. I’ve seen it all happen. I’ve watched [smartphones] have done to our society. I’ve watched what computers have done to our society.”

    He said his limited engagement with social media has also influenced how he sees modern discourse.

    “Truth Social is the first actual official my own page, my own account that I’ve ever had… I guess I didn’t get brainwashed as badly.”

    Lewis went on to describe his broader frustrations with political division in the United States.

    “It’s so clear to me… I don’t understand how so many people can be so brainwashed when it is so crystal clear.”

    “Everything’s flip flopped. Truth, lies and propaganda, and the propaganda is hailed as truth. The narrative is hailed as truth, and it’s societal insanity. We have a serious mental health issue in this country.”

    Outside of music, Lewis has also said his political views have impacted his mainstream exposure. Speaking to Tucker Carlson, he claimed:

    “They won’t play me. They don’t like my thoughts on things… It’s nice to not have to bow down to the powers that be.”

    His 2026 touring cycle with The Stateliners continues that same direction, including appearances on the “Rock The Country” festival circuit, which blends music with politically charged branding. One date will also include a Staind performance.

    That same tone has carried into his merchandise rollout. Promoted on May 14, Lewis revealed a new tour shirt featuring a blacked-out American flag design often associated with military and patriotic imagery.

    The back of the shirt reads:

    “Not Brainwashed”

    The front includes:

    “American as it gets” alongside branding for Aaron Lewis and The Stateliners.

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    312 Comments

    21. Mitch Reese on

      If he was a really wise man, he wouldn’t allow himself to get so deeply enmeshed with Identity Politics. That’s some shallow shit.

      Reply
    33. Dillion Coma on

      Isn’t this where all the conservatives are supposed to show up and start crying for musicians to leave politics out of music? Oh wait, they’re allowed to do all of the things they’re supposedly against. 

      Reply
    40. Kyle Lewis on

      Anyone who has to tell you they aren’t something, most definitely IS whatever they’re saying they aren’t.

      Reply
    41. Keith Bynum on

      Lmfao everyone shoots coyotes and spells out a cult leaders name in their carcasses , not brainwashed lololol

      Reply
    42. Derrick McLeod on

      The guy who toes party lines to a t putting out “Not brainwashed” merch is so goddamn funny. Decent music with Staind but what a dumbass Aaron Lewis is.

      Reply
    44. Paul Kerivan on

      Such am amazing voice. Bummer he thinks his political views matter so he is always spouting them off. Same with any other entertainer. Just because I like what you do doesn’t mean I am going to follow your views.

      Reply
    48. Scott Neal on

      Isn’t this the guy who got upset when people were talking over his boring acoustic tunes and he slammed his guitar down on the stage and walked off? What a fucking baby bitch made prick bastard.

      Reply
    64. Tim Tigersblood Vester on

      Remember when we just thought that Staind was a lame ass band?
      Like before we knew how dopey this dude is?

      Keep the politics out of music! Shut up and sing, ya damned LiBriL!

      Reply
    68. Jerry Winkel on

      Republicans and Democrats are absolutely not allowed to say they’re “not brainwashed”. 😤

      Reply
    71. Jeremy Bell on

      Have to HAVE a brain…or at least one that the frontal lobes are not damaged from the rampant inb*eeding, to be “not brainwashed” Aaron.

      Reply
    90. Josh Keith on

      I met a girl at a bar, but she wasn’t drunk. And I know that she wasn’t drunk because she told me 29 times that she wasn’t drunk, which is definitely something that “not drunk” people do.

      Only a brainwashed person would wear a “not brainwashed” shirt. The people who actually aren’t brainwashed don’t have to advertise it.

      Reply
    96. Jeff Hawks on

      aaron lewis – “I’m not brainwashed!”

      Kid at register – “Umm okay, but sir this is a Wendy’s?”

      Reply
    100. Carmel Clune on

      Just a quick reminder of how much this dude is a hypocrite. When he released the song “Made in China” 2 years ago, about how he’s all American, only buys American stuff, he’s soooo patriotic…

      He was selling exclusive signed Epiphone guitars on his personal merch site. Why? Well because he pretty much exclusively plays with Epiphone guitars (the acoustics, anyway). Specifically the DR 100.

      So why does that make him a hypocrite, you ask? Well…because Epiphone has all but exclusively been made in Qingdao, China since 2005.

      Oops. I think he still sells them, too.

      Reply
    101. Troy Carter on

      So he doesn’t support Epsteins best friend or the white supremacy movement that’s lifted him to power.

      Reply
    118. Sean Fitzgerald on

      If you’re proud of being american, you’re either brainwashed, ignorant, or just plain fucking stupid.

      Reply
    126. Michael Callahan on

      If you feel a deep psychological need to tell everyone you are not something, you most definitely are that thing.

      Reply
    132. Peter Denardo on

      They really are full of shit… like who is he trying to convince, us or himself? 🤣🤣🤣

      Reply
    133. Bob Weidenmoyer on

      People that aren’t brainwashed dont need to go around telling people theyre not brainwashed.

      Reply
    149. Frankie Faircloth on

      I think Aaron forgot what the “DONT TREAD ON ME” stands for that he has across his throat. Seems he likes when the government treads on citizens 🤷

      Reply
    150. Billy Procell on

      Yet, he very much is. He is right behind Kid Rock, and Ted Nugent, standing right beside David Draiman.

      Reply
    155. Erik Torenvlied on

      Saw him at Rockville a few years back. He had some dumb fucking anti vax shirt on.

      He was shite.

      Reply
    164. Marshall Tosko on

      Staind is kinda like the Boondock Saints. You remember them being kinda cool but try listening to an album like Dysfunction end to end. The cringe will break your jaw.

      Reply
    174. Scott Lackie on

      Dudes songs are all about how Mommy and Daddy didnt care. Normally, I wouldn’t call something like that out, but he tries to act hard, and he’s not.

      Reply
    183. Holly Dean on

      Anyone who kills and arranges the carcasses of 32 coyotes to spell “Trump 24” is deranged and brainwashed…

      Reply
    188. Roy Card on

      “I’m an independent thinker and that’s why I agree one hundred percent with the president.”

      Reply
    204. Juan Rosales on

      Anyone who is part of the MAGA cult and who swears that they are not brainwashed is living in fantasy land

      Reply
    216. Daniel Tapia on

      They said while still supporting a pedophile who keeps proving he doesn’t give a fuck about his followers if they’re not rich.

      Reply
    218. Moros Benjamin Cooper on

      Seems like the kind of thing someone who was brainwashed would say. I don’t have to tell anyone at the grocery store I haven’t murdered anyone. But saying that out loud sorta makes it seem like I might have.

      Reply
    222. Justin Lane on

      The dude kisses the ass of a pedophile and has the nerve to push garbage merch like that? What an embarrassment of a man.

      Reply
    235. Brian Johnson on

      Oooohhh. All the MAGATS can watch him, Kid Rock, Ted Nugent. and the singer from Trapt peg each other in the Donkey pin at the County State Fair.

      Reply
    236. Brent Grooms on

      “Not brainwashed! I’m fighting the system.” Meanwhile the people he voted for are the ones running the entirety of the system.

      This is crackhead logic.

      Reply
    237. Shawn Fogle on

      “Not brainwashed” here means “thinks exactly like everyone else in the room.” Ironic, no?

      Reply
    251. Deb Lindamood on

      Kenneth Nevins MY FRIEND Ricardo Villalobos WAS A ROADIE FUR AARONS AN GAVES HIMBS REACH ROUNDZ BEFUR SHOWS FOR GUITAR PICS!!!!

      Reply
    252. Michael Brandon Ferguson on

      Wearing the flag of an oppressive superpower and claiming to not be brainwashed is peak dumbfuckery

      Reply
    257. NC Metal Music on

      sorry bro….anyone who recites rhetoric and blindly supports the political ideology of another person is 100% totally brainwashed

      Reply
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