Eagles Of Death Metal, whose performance in Paris last November was the site of an awful terrorist attack, have been taken off two French music festivals, Cabaret Vert and Rock en Seine, after the lead singer made comments about Muslims. This isn’t the first time lead singer Jesse Hughes has made controversial statements; back in March while speaking with Fox News, Hughes said about the venue’s lack of security, “I won’t make a definite statement, but it seems rather obvious that they had a reason not to show up,” though he later walked that back. Now in an interview with Taki Magazine, the frontman has gone even further with new statements regarding the Bataclan attacks.
Hughes goes on to say, “I saw Muslims celebrating in the street during the attack. I saw it with my own eyes. In real time! How did they know what was going on? There must have been coordination.” The singer also suggested that the Bataclan security guards were in on the terrorist attack, and when asked if he thought they were Muslim, Hughes said:
I know they were. Look, security guards backstage are notorious for being dicks. They check your ID every few minutes and nobody goes back and forth without being checked, even if you’re in the band. This guy didn’t care what we did. … The only time he seemed remotely interested in us was when he said to my girlfriend, “Do you speak French?” and “Where are you from?” … I honestly think he was trying to determine if she was Arab or not … and I think he was going to warn her if she was Muslim.
Rock en Sein announced the cancellation on their Facebook saying:
It should also be noted that Hughes suggested that if it weren’t for Paris’ strict gun laws, many of the fans would have been safer had they been armed.
(Via Paste)
