Some Stranger Things fans are turning against Metallica in a seeming attempt to "cancel" the metal band after learning more about their past.
One of the songs of Metallica featured in Stranger Things season 4 which gave the band a huge boost in popularity. But now they are being scrutinised by many of those younger fans after a TikTok video alleging their ‘problematic’ behaviour went viral.
The Metallica backlash started last week with a video made by TikTok user Serena Trueblood. The influencer hosts a fan series on TikTok called "Is Your Fav Problematic" that covers many different musical artists.
The video featured footage of former bassist Jason Newsted appearing to do a Nazi salute onstage in Moscow in 1991, as well as band members making jokes onstage about the then-recent death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.
In the video, Metallica frontman James Hetfield was also accused of racism and featured a clip of Guns ‘n’ Roses backing singer Roberta Freeman speaking on the Appetite for Distortion podcast in 2020 and alleging Hetfield used the N-word to describe Ice-T while the two rock acts toured together in 1992.
Watch the video below.
@serenatrueblood I find it intersting that they only cared about gatekeeping in their fandom when they started getting big agaib from Stranger Things. Thy only care about what lines theor pockets #metallica #metal #isyourfavproblematic #stanculture #cancelculture #fyp p.s. sorry dad #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo
After the release of the video, some fans responded with regret for their recent Metallica purchases. While others have defended the band on Twitter and TikTok. One tweet summarized, "The fact metallica welcomed and defended all the new fans that came from the stranger things fandom and they've gone and THROWN IT BACK IN THEIR FACES…"
But another agreed with Trueblood, saying, "Metallica fans proving they're racist lmao." Yet another replied to the drama, "Search Metallica cancelled… all about racism etc."
Check out more reactions below.
metallica defending new fans and then those exact people canceling them 2 weeks later is so incredibly funny to me 😭
— tammy (@duffsvelvet) August 7, 2022
metallica is a horrible band that should be cancelled. that being said, you should give your tickets to me
— jesse pinkmans bf (@PINKMANLOVEB0T) August 8, 2022
Never in my life did I expect Metallica to get cancelled but here we are
— 𝐸𝓋𝒶𝓃 🎶 (@BarbedWireBussy) August 7, 2022
nothing on twitter recently has been as funny as metallica getting cancelled by tiktok
— carly (@bloodwoodflower) August 7, 2022
metallica getting cancelled by stranger things fans was extremely predictable, it was nice while it lasted i guess
— Ella Carmel (@5ftjewishbitch) August 7, 2022
metallica has been cancelled like 4 times already get over yourselves WE KNOW😭
— jawbone (@sumrocksumroll) August 7, 2022
> my mom doesnt allow me to get a metallica shirt bc she doesnt like it
> i give up on it
> i find out metallica members did some real fucked up antisemitic n racist shit— yaoi on fire (@cuntdisorder) August 6, 2022
if y'all are not going to listen to metallica anymore because they are problematic, then dont listen to any metal music,,,,,,,
— vick vaporub slipknotera (@pantanodelvacio) August 7, 2022
So apparently Metallica is being cancelled because of James’ iron cross guitar and because Axl Rose- Axl Rose of all people called him racist for not wanting to contribute to an album with him and Ice T the rapper.
— Viliana Rancheva (@thelastTimeLotd) August 8, 2022
stranger things/eddie stans trying to cancel metallica now for their problematic past is funny to me idc 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/khUqFnOiws
— roxy 🕷 (@hendrixnroses) August 7, 2022
The fact metallica welcomed and defended all the new fans that came from the stranger things fandom and they've gone and THROWN IT BACK IN THEIR FACES... pic.twitter.com/xFYeFTaHKR
— johnny | ZICK ZACK (@Jaymzbrainrot) August 7, 2022
I think my favorite thing about the Metallica situation is Axl being used as a source 💀
— waylon ✡︎ רְאוּבֵן (@DanishGremlin) August 7, 2022
@ stranger things fans who just bought metallica merch, tickets etc and don't want them anymore: i will gladly help you get rid of them, just give me your address, leave them at the door and i promise you won't have to deal with them anymore
— anto ⁕ 🌻 (@radiorammstein) August 7, 2022
Now that Metallica is cancelled time to bring this back 🤪 pic.twitter.com/LwnNCA0UWQ
— waylon ✡︎ רְאוּבֵן (@DanishGremlin) August 7, 2022
apparently woke tiktok is tryna cancel metallica now?? man cancel culture is getting more and more ridiculous. i think y’all should stick to ur sped up mainstream songs lmfao. metallica can’t be cancelled. and we ought to bring back gatekeeping cause wtf is this bullshit😭😭
— 𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔞 ☥ (@grungexgod) August 7, 2022
i cancelled metallica long ago. can’t stand their stanky ass 🙄🙄
— farah (@lNFERNALDEATH) August 7, 2022
I'm sure the guys of Metallica are just shaking in their boots about being cancelled by a bunch of kids that only discovered who they are last month and their discovery of the bad shit the band has done but has been public knowledge for decades, which they have learned from 🙁
— wekilledit (@iamwekilledit) August 7, 2022
To summarize:
Metallica did some Nazi salutes and marching one time on stage, motioned like sticking drug needles in their arms
Hetfield said some things that could be construed as racist, Axl Rose is a key source of this info
— Paradigm Dreamspace (@Paradigm_DS) August 8, 2022
