STARS WHO CAN’T STAND GUNS N’ ROSES
Considering the biggest scandals to ever hit Guns N’ Roses, it should come as no surprise that Axl Rose and the gang aren’t universally popular. The rock band has worn its bad attitude as a tattoo sleeve for decades now, never being afraid of who might be offended or impacted by the shenanigans. This includes the poor concertgoers who are forced to wait for hours on end until Mr. Rose decides it’s a good time to take to the stage — or finishes watching an engrossing “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie.
While stories of their shocking antics and questionable behavior ensure their place in rock ‘n’ roll lore, a number of their peers don’t find the cute side of any of it. For some artists, such as Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Faith No More, they never liked what Guns N’ Roses represented and how they conducted themselves. Others, such as Metallica and Eagles of Death Metal, didn’t have the greatest experience touring with the Gunners, and still grapple with the nightmares. To be fair, though, most of these issues can be traced back to something the GNR lead singer did or said, and the list of controversial moments Axl Rose will never live down continues to grow as Rose works hard to be the most polarizing man in music.
From beefing with Jon Bon Jovi to the seemingly never-ending feud with Mötley Crüe, let’s explore the stars whom Guns N’ Roses has heat with.
METALLICA
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After the 1992 Olympic Stadium riot occurred in the aftermath of a Metallica and Guns N’ Roses concert in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, one can’t help but understand the lingering resentment between the bands. The pyrotechnics accident that befell Metallica’s James Hetfield’s wasn’t planned, and all it would have taken to calm down the crowd would be for GNR to take to the stage earlier and play a longer set. This didn’t happen because Axl Rose cut the performance short for vocal issues.
A year later, during an interview with Rolling Stone, Hetfield didn’t mince his words about touring with GNR, saying, “… it was hard going on, dealing with Axl and his attitude. It’s not something we’d want to do again.” Speaking about the Olympic Stadium incident in particular, Hetfield added: “I was so disappointed in [Rose]. Because he could have won so many people over by continuing the show. And he went the exact opposite way and made things ten times worse and jeopardized people’s lives. There was a lot of unnecessary violence because of his attitude.”
The issues between the bands rolled on, but GNR drummer Matt Sorum told Desert Sun in 2021 that it was mostly down to the bands competing to see who’s the best. In the same year, though, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett told Kerrang that touring with GNR could be “very stressful” because of Rose’s unpredictability: no one knew what time he would show up, or if he would show up at all.
LIVING COLOUR
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Guns N’ Roses’ 1988 sophomore album, “G N’ R Lies,” hit the headlines because of the track “One in a Million.” The publicity wasn’t because the song was phenomenal or pushed the group in exciting and uncharted waters, but due to the racist and homophobic content of the lyrics. Axl Rose defended the track, refusing to see how offensive the song could be to others.
One band that spoke out against “One in a Million” was the rock group Living Colour. According to ex-bassist Muzz Skillings’ comments to the Los Angeles Times, Rose confronted him backstage during a concert in which Living Colour, Guns N’ Roses, and the Rolling Stones performed. Reportedly, Rose asked if there was an issue between them while denying he was a racist and going on a diatribe about the reasons for the song. Skillings suggested they chat after GNR’s set, but rather than diffuse the situation, Rose went on stage and defended “One in a Million” in an abrasive fashion. Skillings added about the incident: “Something like that does remind you, it does smack you in the face in case you might have dozed off a little bit, that it’s reality that certain attitudes don’t change.”
At the next show, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid took to the stage to condemn all forms of racism and homophobia before the group played their hit track, “Cult of Personality.” It sounds like Living Colour wouldn’t want to meet Axl Rose in real life again.
KURT COBAIN
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Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain never liked Guns N’ Roses. In fact, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett revealed to NME that Cobain turned down touring with Metallica because GNR would be a part of it. “[Cobain] just went on and on about how he just didn’t like what Guns N’ Roses stood for,” Hammett said.
Nirvana’s drummer Dave Grohl confirmed this fact to Esquire as well, telling the publication that Axl Rose liked Nirvana a lot and desperately tried to convince Cobain to come on tour with GNR and Metallica. “One day we’re walking through an airport and Kurt says, ‘F***. Axl Rose won’t stop calling me,'” Grohl said. “I think it represented something bigger. Nirvana didn’t want to turn into Guns N’ Roses. So Kurt started talking s*** in interviews, and then Axl started talking back. It went back and forth like tenth-grade bulls***.”
This culminated in a much-publicized flare-up between Cobain and Rose backstage at the 1992 MTV Music Video Awards. Hammett described his version of events to Revolver, explaining how Rose escalated the matter by angrily confronting Cobain and threatening physical violence. According to Hammett, Cobain brushed it off and just said, “That guy’s nuts.” In Grohl’s conversation with Esquire, he also touched upon the issue and how Cobain and his wife, Courtney Love, got into a verbal sparring match with Rose, while Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic almost threw hands as well. According to Grohl, he only participated by screaming “loud, funny s***” then headed off for a drink.
FAITH NO MORE
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After Nirvana turned down the opportunity to team up with Metallica and Guns N’ Roses on a now-infamous tour, Faith No More took the spot. However, the eclectic rock outfit was far from happy about the supporting gig, having already shared the stage with GNR beforehand. Speaking to Select in 1992 (via Louder), Faith No More bassist Billy Gould said: “Every band in the world might think they want to open for Guns N’ Roses, but lemme tell you, it’s been a real ugly personal experience, having to deal with all the s*** that surrounds this f***** circus. I’ve always hated that aspect of rock music and I’ve never wanted to be part of it, so to find myself being associated with a tour this big kinda sucks.”
Nonetheless, Faith No More accepted the tour and still blasted GNR in the press whenever the opportunity presented itself. In an interview with Kerrang (via Louder), Gould said that Axl Rose and Slash eventually confronted Faith No More about their harsh words in the media, telling them they should leave if they didn’t want to be on the tour. The band decided to stay on while Gould added how he appreciated Rose’s handling of the incident.
Appearing on Regis Tadeu’s podcast in 2021, Faith No More’s singer Mike Patton stoked the flames again, revealing he urinated on Rose’s teleprompter during the tour. The reason for this? He was “bored” and “they treated us like s***, [but] they paid us really well.”
JON BON JOVI
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Both Bon Jovi and Guns N’ Roses are quintessential ’80s bands. However, there’s no disputing that GNR leaned more into the dangerous and rebellious side of rock ‘n’ roll, while Bon Jovi embodied the radio-friendly vibes. While the rivalry for who will dominate the airwaves and concert circuit is understandable, it doesn’t appear like there’s much love lost between the groups in general. According to Rolling Stone, Axl Rose is one of the stars who can’t stand Bon Jovi, as he punched a person who dared to suggest he looked like Jon Bon Jovi in 1987, despite the latter lead singer being seen as a major sex symbol of the era.
In 2006, Mr. Bon Jovi himself vented to the New York Post (via Blabbermouth) about the attention that Guns N’ Roses receives — even when they do nothing to merit it in his opinion. “You know what p****s me off?” Bon Jovi said. “I was reading this British rock magazine this month and there was a story about Axl Rose and the $13 million Guns N’ Roses record that was never made. That m*****f****r hasn’t made a record in 13 years and he gets all that attention.” He added how he and his band had done a lot in that time, but Rose received the headlines for “the freak show aspect of him.”
Inadvertently, Bon Jovi might have spurred on Rose to complete the “$13 million” record, though, as GNR finally released “Chinese Democracy” in 2008.
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
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Any music fan knows that the Eagles of Death Metal and Guns N’ Roses are like oil and water — they don’t mix — and so much so that it surprised people when they were set to tour together in 2006. However, this match made in bizarro heaven imploded after a concert incident resulted in Eagles of Death Metal leaving the tour altogether, or being fired, depending on who’s asked.
Speaking to NME, Eagles of Death Metal’s Jesse Hughes explained how the crowd displayed animosity toward his band because they weren’t Guns N’ Roses; however, they won them over in the end. When Axl Rose arrived on stage, he proceeded to insult the band by referring to them as “the Pigeons of S*** Metal” and fired them from the tour. “Axl Rose is f*****g out of his mind,” Hughes said. “He wasn’t even there when we played. He got there about 30 minutes after we got done playing. He waltzed on to the stage and went nuts.” As per Hughes’ version of events, GNR bassist Tommy Stinson stormed off the stage because of Rose’s comments, while GNR’s management attempted to smooth things over by allowing Eagles of Death Metal to continue the tour — to which they declined.
Appearing on NME Radio in 2009, Hughes recalled the event once again, stating how he believes it all happened because of Eagle of Death Metal’s friendship with Dave Grohl, whom Rose allegedly disliked and blamed for GNR’s implosion in 1992.
SCOTT WEILAND
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Rock supergroup Velvet Revolver formed out of the ashes of Guns N’ Roses as Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum teamed up with Dave Kushner and Scott Weiland in the early 2000s. Rather than wish his former bandmates well, Axl Rose decided to open old wounds and air the dirty laundry in a 2006 press release in which he claimed Slash had disparaged both Weiland and McKagan in a meeting they had in 2005. Taking to Velvet Revolver’s now-defunct website (via BraveWords), Weiland rolled up his sleeves and stuck his hand in the mud to fling it right back at Rose, claiming that it was the instrumentalists who made GNR tick — not Rose.
In 2008, Weiland received the boot from Velvet Revolver, which resulted in animosity between him and the remaining members. Ironically, he expressed sympathy toward Rose, as he drew his ire toward the others and suggested they did to him what they had done to Rose before. “When you think about it, isn’t it ironic that the band is regurgitating the same story that they did with Axl Rose in their last band, where the lead singer was being demonized?” Weiland told Classic Rock. “Originally I thought: ‘What a troll he must have been. What an evil man.’ But you know what? I have to say that I have an entirely different opinion of him today.”
Weiland passed away in 2015, becoming part of a notorious club of famous musicians who died in their 40s.
MÖTLEY CRÜE
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As the self-appointed bad boys of rock, fans would expect Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses to be two peas in a pod, bonding over a shared passion for debauchery, hell-raising, and girls, girls, girls. Yet, these groups were at loggerheads for the longest period, including an infamous time in 1991 in which the Crüe’s lead singer, Vince Neil, challenged Axl Rose to a public clash of fisticuffs. But where did all this hatred stem?
It all started after GNR’s then-guitarist Izzy Stradlin reportedly came onto Vince Neil’s ex-wife Sharise Ruddell at a club in the late ’80s. Stradlin reportedly touched her inappropriately and Ruddell slapped him, which resulted in Stradlin attacking her. Neil bided his time and unleashed his retribution on Stradlin at the 1989 MTV Music Awards. Allegedly, Neil slugged Stradlin, while a number of people intervened before the issue got further out of hand. Not one to be left out, Rose angrily confronted Neil at the event, but their argument didn’t escalate beyond profanities.
Instead, the pair proceeded to fight their war in the press of all places. Eventually, Neil appeared on “MTV News” and challenged Rose to a televised fight where everyone could watch them battle — presumably for a fee and to a Mötley Crüe soundtrack. Former MTV VJ Riki Rachtman also confirmed to Metal Sludge that there was major heat between GNR and Mötley Crüe in that era.
KINGS OF THE SUN
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Kings of the Sun might not be a name familiar to the average rock listener. The Australian-formed band tasted an appetizer of success in the late ’80s and early ’90s, but they never became a global tour de force like Guns N’ Roses. Nonetheless, Kings of the Sun was set to open for GNR when the U.S. band rolled into Sydney, Australia, in 1988. However, the band members had their set cut short and then were dumped out of the venue unceremoniously. Making matters worse, Axl Rose went on stage to explain the reason: GNR wasn’t happy about an article in which Kings of the Sun said GNR took a lot of influence from another band, Rose Tattoo. The solution? To publicly embarrass them in front of the audience.
Chatting about the incident to Triple M Rock News in 2024 (via Hot Metal), Kings of the Sun drummer Clifford Hoad said it was never meant to be a jibe at GNR, but it was intended to draw awareness to what Rose Tattoo was doing. He added how he stands by what he said and that it was simply a case of Rose being too sensitive and overly dramatic over nothing.
“If he was ridiculous and over-sensitive back then, it’s the same today and it doesn’t wash with people anymore,” Hoad said. “Leaving people out there for two hours and not showing up for gigs, doing things that are really disrespectful to his fans and his band members and even himself.”
AXL ROSE
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How is it possible that Axl Rose can’t stand Guns N’ Roses? Well, think about it for a second: Who has had more issues with members of GNR than Rose himself? Whether it be bandmates past or present or even people adjacent to the band, it’s likely that Rose has feuded with most of them at some point in the group’s history.
For example, in 2009, while speaking to Spinner, Rose called Slash “a cancer and better removed, avoided.” He also isn’t opposed to using passive-aggression while referring to ex-GNR members as “former employees” rather than musical collaborators or bandmates, as he did to MTV News in 1999.
At least Rose appears to be self-aware of his controversial comments in the past and how the reunited lineup might be gritting their teeth through smiles to just get on with the show for the sake of the big paydays. During a 2018 show (via Loudwire), Rose proceeded to prattle off a list of people he wanted to thank, quipping the following with a smirk: “I want to thank the band that I’m sure hates me.”
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