A former singer with rock group Pantera has been condemned by fellow musicians after giving a Nazi salute and shouting “white power”.
Philip Anselmo was filmed by a fan at an event on 22nd January held in tribute to Pantera’s late guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott. Anselmo initially claimed he had been making a joke about the white wine served to performers at the event, who included Dave Grohl and members of Metallica, and said he would not apologise.
Among those to criticise him were the band All Shall Perish, who stated: “Seeing Phil’s actions and his cowardly justification is not only disgusting and inexcusable but antithetical to the punk, metal, underground ethos to which we subscribe.”
Anselmo has been reported as making racist remarks in the past. Speaking on MTV in 1994 he refused to condemn fans shouting “white power” at Pantera gigs, and the following year he described rap artists as “pissing all over white culture”. Pantera disbanded in 2003, since when he has performed with various other groups.
In February, Anselmo changed his position regarding the tribute night and issued a lengthy apology on Housecore Records’ YouTube channel, saying that he was “so sorry”, “a thousand percent apologetic” and deserved criticism for his “uncalled-for” behaviour.