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 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.
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,… pic.twitter.com/ImZyOgFeuJ
— Aɴᴛ (@AntSpeaks) October 12, 2026
Now, former Pink Floyd star Roger Waters has shared his thoughts on the comments made by Hetfield, calling him a “prick”.
“Can we stop talking about this prick?” he said when making a guest appearance on Katie Halper’s podcast. “I’m so bored with him. He’s just showing that he’s a complete prick. He’s got an IQ of about three, and why we’re talking about him, I honestly don’t know, because he’s a nobody.”
The host highlighted to Waters that while Metallica have maintained a largely apolitical stance over the years, Hetfield has previously spoken out about reports that Metallica’s music was allegedly being used to torture prisoners in Iraq. He told The Guardian in 2003: “We’ve been punishing our parents, our wives, our loved ones with this music for ever. Why should the Iraqis be any different?”
Waters replied: “He may have a few hundred million dollars or whatever, but he’s a prick, and he’s no musician. I heard them playing acoustic instruments, and they couldn’t. It was appalling.
“People like Metallica, I couldn’t care less. And obviously I wish he had grown up with a mama or a dad or a friend or somebody in the family who [had] taken him to one side when he was little…,” he continued. “It’s a shame this prick didn’t have somebody around him to explain that being kind is way more important than all that loud music and bouncing around and whatever.”
Roger Waters has been a longtime supporter of Palestine. In 2024, he urged followers on social media not to vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in the US election due to their respective stances on the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. More recently, last July, he voiced his support for Palestine Action after the organisation was proscribed as a terrorist group under the Terrorism Act 2000.
He has also hit back at other musicians for their various stances on Israel. He told Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood that “there is no argument to be made”, and went on to say: “It is not a conflict. It is a genocide, Thom and Jonny!”
More recently, he also called Ed Sheeran a “little prick” for allowing Macklemore to be kicked off his ‘Loop Tour’, following the rapper making an impassioned speech on-stage, calling for “all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality” and for a “free Palestine”.
“I just have a little message for [Sheeran],” Waters said in a video. “There are two kinds of people in this world. There’s people who do the right thing – the rapper Macklemore would be one of those people. And there’s people – many of them, sadly – little pricks like you who do the wrong thing. Goodbye.”
Metallica have been reluctant to share their political stance for years now, and back in 2017 Hetfield said that he wanted to keep his thoughts about Donald Trump to himself, arguing that politics “separates” people.
In 2020, Metallica also spoke about how they wanted their music to inspire unity at a time when tensions are high due to various social conflicts, and last year the band forced the US government to withdraw a social media video that made use of ‘Enter Sandman’ without authorisation.
Metallica’s Las Vegas residency shows come amid a busy few years of touring, with them being on the road frequently for their mammoth ‘M72’ tour, celebrating the release of their latest album ‘72 Seasons’.
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