Marilyn Manson back on the stage for the first time, after he broke his leg in two places a few weeks ago during a concert in New York.

In that show, he pretended to shoot into the audience with a fake assault weapon. Now, he revealed a statement about that issue:

“In an era where mass shootings have become a nearly daily occurrence, this was an act of theater in an attempt to make a statement about how easily accessible semi-automatic weapons are and how seeing them has become normalized.

My art has always been a reaction to popular culture and my way to make people think about the horrible things that happen in this world. My performance was not meant to be disrespectful or show any insensitivity.

The prop microphone I used on stage was handed to me with the approval of a police officer. My empathy goes out to anyone who has been affected by the irresponsible and reprehensible misuse of REAL guns.”

You can watch the video footage of his “fake rifle act” from below.