A New Jersey township council meeting descended into an unusual spectacle this week when members of the public used their allotted public comment time to perform pop songs rather than raise civic concerns. The most prominent performer, 52-year-old William Thilly, sang Morrissey's 1994 hit "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get" before being removed by police and charged with disrupting a meeting. The episode highlights ongoing tensions around public comment periods being used for provocative stunts.

The incident took place at a Cranford Township meeting on 7th July and was captured on a public access television broadcast later uploaded to YouTube. Thilly, described as a serial provocateur who went viral last year for breakdancing at a similar meeting, brought a small speaker and continued singing past his allotted time until officers dragged him out; he had earlier placed a sign reading "Refuse Govt. Abuse" on the podium and spoke against a lack of government transparency. He was not the only performer that night — a man dressed as a purple bong, calling himself "Bongholeo" and carrying a fake baby named "Bongholito", performed a version of Lizzo's "About Damn Time" with lyrics altered to reference smoking marijuana.