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.

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.