Indie rockers The Eagles Of Death Metal were hailed as heroes and a symbol of resistance following concerts both during and after the terrorist attack at Le Bataclan in Paris just 6 months ago. But a single magazine interview has changed French perceptions of the band.
______________________________________________
The Eagles of Death Metal have been dropped from the lineup of two French festivals after the band’s frontman Jesse Hughes made comments about the attack at Le Bataclan last year in magazine interview.
According to Stereogum, Hughes aroused the ire of the festivals with an interview with Taki’s magazine, where he suggested that the attacks could have been prevented if French gun laws were less restrictive and that security at the venue was complicit in the attack. He also said that he later saw “Muslims celebrating in the street during the attack.”
Taki’s is an English language digital news magazine published by Greek journalist Taki Theodoracopulos and edited by his daughter Mandolyna Theodoracopulos, focused on U.S. culture and politics with an editorial slant that falls in the paleoconservative end of the spectrum.
Rock en Seine and northern France’s Cabaret Vert issued a statement announcing the cancellation, stating that they were “in total disagreement with Jesse Hughes”.
The Eagles of Death Metal were infamously performing at the Bataclan on November 13, 2015 when Islamic extremists attacked the venue as a part of a coordinated assault on Paris, killing 130 people and leaving 368 injured.