Metallica’s James Hetfield hits out at “some other entertainers” attempting “to influence you with their

Metallica’s James Hetfield has made a subtle jab at “some other entertainers” who use their time on stage “to influence you with their bullshit”.

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O ícone do heavy metal fez os comentários enquanto estava no palco com a Metallica recentemente, como parte de sua residência contínua no Las Vegas Sphere, que começou no início deste mês e vai durar até o início de 2027.

Midway through their set on Saturday (October 10), Hetfield thanked the crowd for potentially travelling far and wide to see their show, and reassured them that they were wanting to create a sense of escape from the world’s issues – not lecture them with their own “bullshit” agendas.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield took a swipe at artists who use their concerts to lecture audiences about politics during the band's Las Vegas residency.

In what could easily be seen as a dig at the likes of Macklemore, Hetfield told the crowd.

Unless you live in Vegas,… pic.twitter.com/ImZyOgFeuJ.

Although the thrash metal icon didn’t mention any names with his comments, some fans have suggested that it could be a nod to Macklemore, who was dropped as a support act for Ed Sheeran’s ‘Loop’ tour after making a speech calling for a “free Palestine”.

Após fazer seus comentários no palco, Robert Kraft – que possui o Gillette Stadium e também é dono dos New England Patriots – disse que achou o discurso de Macklemore “muito ofensivo e prejudicial à comunidade judaica”.

Following more disapproval from the likes of Pink and the Israeli American Council, the rapper was removed from the tour.

Desde então, inúmeros nomes de peso, incluindo Greta Thunberg, Massive Attack, Roger Waters, Dropkick Murphys, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Billy Bragg e Hayley Williams, demonstraram seu apoio a Macklemore, e a banda de Ed Sheeran e outros artistas de apoio ao tour se retiraram em solidariedade ao rapper.

Ed Sheeran também falou sobre a situação, chamando o “suffering and pain caused on both sides” de “tragedy”.

Thank you !!! pic.twitter.com/p6TALGND0I.

Now I know why I've always liked RATM and hated Metallica pic.twitter.com/LBC4qkI5D2.

Metallica habla solo de música como debería ser siempre 🤘 pic.twitter.com/usnLIhh8lg.

Metallica: no estamos aquí como otros artistas, para influenciarlos con sus tonterías. No que fuéramos banda de rock.

Hayley Williams: pic.twitter.com/BB80qZf4FS.

Hetfield’s comments, some fans suggest, could also be in response to Tom Morello continuing to use his platform to speak out on political issues – recently enlisting Jack Black, Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen and more for the inaugural edition of his Power To The People festival.

Described as a festival to “bring together artists, fans, activists, organisations and community leaders for an unforgettable day celebrating the power of music and collective action to inspire change”, a portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales (plus 100 per cent of the net proceeds from VIP tickets) were donated to VoteRiders and HeadCount.

Others online have speculated that the on stage comments from Hetfield could allude to Hayley Williams, and how the Paramore singer has been saying ‘Fuck ICE’ – referring to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement department – and also shouting “Free motherfucking Palestine” at her recent live shows.

Metallica have been reluctant to share their political stance for years now, and back in 2017 Hetfield said that he wanted to keep his thoughts about Donald Trump to himself, arguing that politics “separates” people.

Em 2020, o Metallica também falou sobre como desejavam que sua música inspirasse unidade em um momento em que as tensões estão altas devido a vários conflitos sociais, e no ano passado a banda obrigou o governo dos EUA a retirar um vídeo nas redes sociais que utilizou ‘Enter Sandman’ sem autorização.

Their Las Vegas shows come amid a busy few years of touring, with them being on the road frequently for their mammoth ‘M72’ tour, celebrating the release of their latest album ‘72 Seasons’.

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