Roger Waters has hit back at James Hetfield following his recent on-stage comments about music and politics, calling the Metallica frontman a “complete prick” who has “an IQ of about three”.
The comments relate to the thrash metal icon’s recent comments while performing as part of Metallica’s residency at the Las Vegas Sphere. On stage on October 10, he thanked the crowd for potentially travelling far and wide to see their show, and reassured them that they were wanting to create a sense of escape from the world’s issues – not lecture them with their own “bullshit” agendas.
Metallica frontman James Hetfield took a swipe at artists who use their concerts to lecture audiences about politics during the band's Las Vegas residency.
In what could easily be seen as a dig at the likes of Macklemore, Hetfield told the crowd:
"Unless you live in Vegas, you've come a long way to spend some time with Metallica. We're grateful for that. Your travels, the money you spend, the time it took, thanks for coming to celebrate with us.
And I just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit. We are here to forget about all the outside shit. Metallica's agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!"
Hetfield has rarely spoken openly about his politics, but past interviews suggest he holds many conservative values.
On Joe Rogan's podcast in 2016, he explained how he'd moved his family away from the San Francisco Bay Area, having grown tired of what he saw as its political intolerance and elitism.
As a Metallica fan, this is incredibly based! 🤘
— Aɴᴛ (@AntSpeaks) October 12, 2026
“Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit, OK,” he shared. “No bullshit. We’re here to forget about all the outside shit, OK? Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!”
Although he didn’t mention any names, some fans have suggested that it could be a nod to Macklemore, who was dropped as a support act for Ed Sheeran’s ‘Loop’ tour after making a speech calling for a “free Palestine”. Others have speculated that it could also have been a jab towards Hayley Williams – who has been saying ‘Fuck ICE’ at her recent shows – or even at fellow metal artist Tom Morello, who recently enlisted Jack Black, Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen and more for his politically-charged Power To The People festival.
