PHIL ANSELMO CAUSES A RACISM SHITSTORM (January 2016)

The former Pantera frontman’s ‘white power’ outburst was a step too far

It looked fun to begin with. At 2am on January 22, 2016, Philip Anselmo took to the stage at Hollywood’s Lucky Strike Live venue to jam with showbiz pals Dave Grohl, Metallica’s Rob Trujillo, ex-slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and others, as part of Dimebash, an annual tribute to Dimebag Darrell. This impromptu crew bashed through a few Pantera songs and Motörhead covers in front of a crowd that were probably even more hammered than the men onstage. But footage soon surfaced of the gig that showed Anselmo throwing a Nazi salute and bellowing “White power!” into the faces of the audience. Quite rightly, the internet exploded in outrage. Admittedly, the former Pantera frontman had raised similar concerns with deeply questionable, drunken onstage outbursts in the past, but this was patently beyond the pale. Initially, he refused to apologise and suggested that he had been making a joke about the white wine the musicians had been drinking backstage. No one was buying it. On January 30, Anselmo posted a video on Youtube, apologising profusely for his actions.

“It was ugly, it was uncalled for,” he said. “Anyone who knows me and my true nature knows that I don’t believe in any of that. I am 1,000% apologetic to anyone that took offence to what I said, because you should have taken offence to what I said. And I am so sorry, and I hope you just give me another chance.”

Almost four years on, Phil remains a deeply divisive character to the metal community.