Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth Busted at Disneyland for Cannabis

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]I[/dropcap]n an interview with The Guardian, former Sonic Youth bassist Kim Gordon revealed that she was thrown into “Disney jail” for smoking cannabis at Tom Sawyer’s Island at the Disneyland resort in Anaheim, California. The artist criticized the way Disney Resort workers handle incidents involving cannabis, and she didn’t hold back.

Gordon, 66, said she was smoking cannabis inside a cave at Tom Sawyer’s Island and a “Disney cop” saw her light up and detained her. “They took us underground,” Gordon told The Guardian, adding that she saw “Mickey Mouse with a walkie-talkie” down there.

“I was writing this paper in my head about Disneyland and how fascist it was,” Gordon tells me. “It confirmed my beliefs about American consumerism. Consumerism is killing us.” Gordon regularly talks about her political beliefs in interviews, and isn’t afraid to speak her mind on a variety of topics—ranging from President Donald Trump to the music industry.

Disney Resorts maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding cannabis and drugs. “Smoking marijuana or other illegal substances is not permitted at any time,” Disneyland Resort Rules states conclusively. Guests at Disney Resort hotels who are caught smoking, for instance, are automatically charged a $250-500 “room recovery fee.”

While Sonic Youth formed in 1981, the band is considered by music historians as a pivotal figure of the grunge and alternative rock scene that peaked about ten years later during the early nineties. The band’s early days were defined as punk or experimental noise and later defined as grunge as the genre grew. 

Robert Downey Jr. also said he was busted for smoking cannabis at Disneyland in Anaheim. Blake Lively was also sent to “Disney jail” for breaking the rules, as she described to David Letterman, but in her case, she was punished for sneaking inside without paying the entrance fee.

Sonic Youth disbanded in 2011, following Gordon’s divorce, but she continues to record as a solo artist. In her mid-60s, Gordon is as rebellious as she ever was, and her persona is the same on and off the stage.