Heart’s "Barracuda" is one of hard rock’s most enduring songs, built around such majestic elements—those chugging guitar riffs, that viciously heavy vocal—that it’s easy to gloss over the substance of Ann Wilson’s lyrics. But once you know the backstory, that 1977 single carries even more weight: "Barracuda" is an anti-sexist anthem, a musical reaction to one man’s disturbing backstage comments.
"'Barracuda' was just a moment. It was a flash of anger, of realization of what we had gotten ourselves into," Ann recalled to Dan Rather. "It happened one night after a show. Some really sleazy guy came up to me and implied to me that he was really turned on by the fact that Nance [sister/bandmate Nancy Wilson] and I were lesbian [incestuous] lovers. That just really got him going—in his fantasy. That made me so mad because I love my sister.
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"Suddenly my mother’s face came right up [in my mind], saying, 'Don’t get into show business. It’s so tacky. It’s so full of sleazy people who are going to misunderstand you,’" she continued. "I said, 'Oh, you’re so right.' It made me really angry, I think, especially I felt they had attacked her honor—and both our honors. So I went and wrote the words to 'Barracuda.' I think if I would have had a gun, I might have reacted differently to the guy, but thank goodness I didn’t."
You can hear that righteous rage in Wilson's lyrics, including the line, "You lying so low in the weeds / I bet you gonna ambush me / You'd have me down, down, down, down on my knees / Now wouldn't you, barracuda?"
Ann also discussed that unpleasant encounter in the 2024 book She’s a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism, noting how it shaped the sisters’ perception of the music industry. "Nancy and I really had this idea that we were songwriters carrying cool messages to the people," she said. "We had no idea that we would be perceived, even by a sleaze-ball, as two porno chicks together in a band. It made me really mad, not only at him but at the industry and at my decision to be so naive and consider myself some kind of spiritual pilgrim with these songs."
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This was far from the only time the Wilson sisters faced sexism in their field. Another famous Heart story involves their first label, Mushroom Records, who took out a full-page, tabloid-style print ad that infuriated the band. "[I]n it was an outtake from the Dreamboat Annie photo session that had Nancy and I back-to-back with our tops pulled down beyond the shoulders," Ann told Rolling Stone. "And the caption below it was: 'It was only our first time!' It sort of went along with the whole unspoken idea that Nancy and I were [lesbian] lovers. They were trying to make easy, sleazy success out of that image. And Nancy and I felt insulted by it, because we were trying to achieve something higher. We were trying to break into music respectfully and with a little more class than that."
Heart, of course, always rose above this flood of sexism, and "Barracuda" is a testament to that legacy. The songs, the lead single from the band’s third album, 1977’s Little Hearts, reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it remains both a staple of classic-rock radio and a centerpiece of their live show.
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Stoic statueCanva
A family makes heart shapes with their hands at sunset
Ketel Marte was brought to tears during an MLB game after facing a shameful fan taunt.
Baseball manager's poignant support for a player brought to tears after shameful fan taunt
Whether they’re expecting perfection from their favorite players or, worse, behaving callously toward opposing teams, sports fans often forget that athletes are human beings. But athletic competition has the ability to unify and uplift, even amid such painful and unpleasant encounters. Take, for example, a major-league baseball game held June 24, 2025 between the home team Chicago White Sox and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
A shameful low point occurred when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was at bat in the seventh inning. Per ESPN, a fan reportedly yelled out a comment regarding Marte’s late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car accident in the Dominican Republic. Team personnel, including manager Torey Lovullo, then requested the 22-year-old fan be ejected. (Though he was remorseful and admitted his actions were inappropriate, according to an ESPN source, he was nonetheless banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks.) "We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," the MLB said in a statement. Marte reportedly declined to comment.
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While the fan’s behavior is inexcusable, it did spark a powerful and inspiring moment. After hearing the comment, Marte was visibly upset, prompting Lovullo to walk on the field, put his arm around him, and offer some words of encouragement. "[I said,] 'I love you, and I’m with you, and we’re all together, and you’re not alone,'" Lovullo said in a post-game interview, as documented by The Rich Eisen Show. "'No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you’re heard, that guy is an idiot.’"
According to Arizona Republic, Lovullo heard the fan’s comment but didn’t want to repeat it. “I looked right at [Marte] when I heard,” he said. “I looked right at him, and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure."
Elsewhere in the post-game interview, the manager called the moment "terrible" and reflected on why he stood up for Marte. "Fans are nasty, and fans go too far sometimes," he said. "I love my players, and I’m gonna protect them…I’ve known Ketel for nine years. He’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships as well and some really tough moments in his life. I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him."
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The following day, the Chicago White Sox X account sent out a message in support of Marte, writing, "We’re with you" and "Baseball is family." On The Rich Eisen Show, the show's host addressed the need to eradicate this kind of toxic athlete-fan interaction: "I was hearing [people saying], 'There’s no place for this in major league baseball.' There isn’t. There’s no place for this in our society. I understand that people are saying the MLB has got to do something about this. Fans have a right to heckle players—this is something that has happened forever…But there is a line."
In another recent, depressing sports moment with a beautiful coda, let’s look to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the first quarter, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon—a devastating injury that could potentially sideline him for most of the 2025-2026 season. Following the game, in a lovely display of sportsmanship, Thunder point-guard and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Pacers locker room to check on his competitor. In a press conference, he said, "You just hate to see it, in sports in general. But in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I can't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate."
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