Phil Anselmo says suggestions that he is racist are “utterly ridiculous.”
The former Pantera frontman hit headlines for making a Nazi salute and shouting “white power” onstage at a gig held in memory of Dimebag earlier this year. He issued a video statement following the incident, saying it was an inside joke – but he says critics won’t get anymore apologies.
He tells Decibel (via Blabbermouth): “I do take full accountability. I’m not deflecting at all.
“What I did was insulting, absolutely, and abhorrent, because it did truly upset people, and it hurts my heart that anyone would think that I’m the dreaded ‘R’ word – a racist.
“Anyone who truly knows me knows that it’s utterly ridiculous. But if I did offend my Jewish friends, people I work with, my associates, other people in bands – that’s why I apologised. That apology is there – and no, you won’t get another one ever again.”
Anselmo claims that in the lead-up to the infamous moment at Dimebash, he’d been heckled by a few members of the crowd with “an agenda,” who he says repeatedly shouted “racist” at him throughout the night.
He adds: “I was absolutely smashed drunk. No excuse, but I was. Should I have done it? Hell fucking no. Would I take it back? Absolutely. But my sense of humour is dark and my temper is and always has been volatile, so I reacted.
“I reacted in an ignorant way. I own it. But do I believe in it? That’s ridiculous.”
The interview can be read in full in Decibel Magazine.
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