Artist News Gigs & Festivals

French festivals drop Eagles Of Death Metal following comments on Bataclan attack

By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 23 May 2016

Eagles Of Death Metal have been dropped from the line-ups of two French festivals after frontman Jesse Hughes again claimed that security guards at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris were complicit in the terror attacks at the venue last November, which left 90 people dead.

In an interview with Fox News in March, Hughes claimed that a number of security staff at the venue had not shown up to work at the band’s performance that night in order for attackers to take their place. He later apologised on Facebook, saying that he had made “absurd accusations” in the interview.

However, in a new interview with right wing website Taki’s Magazine he reiterated those accusations, saying: “I got in a lot of trouble for saying that. [But] I know for sure that [the attackers] were in there early. I remember them staring at my buddy. I just chalked it up to Arab envy. You know what I mean? When a Muslim sees a cocky American dude with tattoos, he stares at him. I realised later it was [subsequently arrested attacker Salah] Abdeslam and he was staring at my buddy because they thought he was a threat. There’s no denying the terrorists were already inside, and they had to get in somehow. During the shooting I went outside and the backstage door was propped open. How did that happen?”

Following the publication of the interview, Eagles Of Death Metal were dropped from the Rock En Seine and Cabaret Vert festivals. In a statement, organisers of both festivals said: “Being in total disagreement with Jesse Hugues’ recent allegations given in an interview with an American media, both Cabaret Vert and Rock En Seine festivals have decided to cancel the band’s performance. We thank you for your understanding”.

Since the attacks last year, Hughes has also been criticised for saying that audience members would have been safer in the venue if they had all been allowed to carry guns.