Springsteen Fan Club Shuts Down After Political Infighting, Founders Cite El-Sayed Endorsement

On Sunday, Nov. 8, Julie and Howie Chaz posted a statement announcing the end of Spring-Nuts, a Facebook fan group for Bruce Springsteen that they had run for more than a decade. By then the group had about 18,000 members, and the founders said many of them were no longer talking about the music.

In that statement, as reported by the Asbury Park Press, the Chazes wrote that tensions in the wider world had spilled into their corner of the E Street universe. Disagreements that should have stayed respectful, they said, too often turned into personal attacks, bullying and insults, and at times into what they called genuinely vile and hateful rhetoric.

The backdrop is Springsteen's increasingly pointed public politics. Earlier this year he toured North America with the E Street Band and guitarist Tom Morello on the 20-date "Land of Hope and Dreams" tour. He announced it in February as a response to President Donald Trump and the "No Kings" protests, describing dark and dangerous times and promising to rock towns in defense of American democracy and the Constitution. He also said everyone was welcome, whatever they believed.

Howie Chaz said that as Springsteen grew more outspoken, the group's administrators faced a difficult balancing act. They wanted to respect his absolute right to speak while keeping the community civil. He asked how a fan community could ignore statements coming directly from the artist who had brought its members together.

The final straw, the founders said, was Springsteen's November endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's senator-elect, whom the singer called a fighter for the American Constitution. Howie Chaz said El-Sayed had campaigned with the streamer Hasan Piker, whom he accused of saying America deserved 9/11. He also pointed to the aftermath of a March attack on a Michigan synagogue, which he called an act of terrorism. El-Sayed, he said, rationalized it by saying "Hurt people hurt people" while standing next to Piker.

Julie and Howie said the endorsement was deeply disappointing to them given their concerns as proud Jews. They added that they did not believe Springsteen meant to make fans feel unwelcome. But they said some fans had appointed themselves gatekeepers of who was worthy of belonging in the E Street community.

The group is not disappearing entirely. Howie told the Asbury Park Press that the annual Seaside Serenade event and the Spring-Nuts podcasts will continue under a different name. The community will rebrand around music more broadly rather than around Springsteen alone.

On Facebook, Howie stressed that he and Julie could never thank Springsteen and the E Street Band enough for decades of music, memories, inspiration and joy. He said Springsteen's songs had been the soundtrack to many of the most meaningful moments of their lives, and that through Spring-Nuts they had opened doors and met extraordinary people.

Springsteen's representatives did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. What to watch is the rebranded group's launch and whether Springsteen or his camp addresses the departure.