Rocker James Hetfield, frontman for the heavy metal band Metallica, took a shot at other singers on Saturday night for forcing their politics on fans from the stage.
The “Enter the Sandman” band was performing at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday evening when Hetfield gave a short address to the fans in the audience, LouderSound reported.
“Unless you live in Vegas, you’ve come a long way to spend some time with Metallica,” he said from the stage. “We’re grateful for that – your travels, the money you spend, the time it took, thanks for coming to celebrate with us.”
But then he took an axe to other performers who use their platform for politics.
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“And I just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit, OK? We are here…no bullshit…we’re here to forget about all the outside shit, OK?” he stated.
“Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!” he said.
Some of Metallica’s music has had social commentary in lyrics in the past. However, the band has never worn their politics on their sleeves as so many other bands do.
In 2017, Hetfield explained that he has no interest in trying to force fans to vote in any particular way.
“My opinion stays with me,” Hetfield told La Tercera at the time. “I’m a singer and guitar player in a rock band. I hate politics. I don’t wanna talk about politics. It’s not important to me. What’s important to me is connecting people with music. Politics, religion… they separate people.”
Drummer Lars Ulrich has occasionally mentioned his anti-Trump political views, but he has done so sparingly and never from the stage. Indeed, he once noted in an interview that he can’t remember ever having had a political conversation with Hetfield.
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