Musicians, especially rock stars, are well known for their outrageous personalities.
And, while some can turn off their self-absorbed, rock-n-roll personas off-stage, others are
just plain rotten whether they're shredding at the Hollywood Bowl or buying groceries.
Avoid these controversial musicians at all costs.
The world of metal isn't exactly known for subtlety or a gentle persuasion.
But you may be surprised how many growling metal frontmen are thoughtful and caring people.
Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying is not one of those people.
"A popular Christian rock singer from Carlsbad is now admitting he hired a hitman to kill
his wife."
In May 2013, Lambesis solicited someone to off his wife of eight years, offering a cool
thousand dollars and detailed instructions on how to go about doing it.
His wife, Meggan, had filed for divorce the previous year, but that's the only nugget
of speculation as to why he wanted to have the mother of his three adopted children murdered.
The only problem was that the person he was enlisting to carry out this grim act was actually
an undercover police officer.
He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years but ended up serving just under
three, gaining release in December 2016.
As for his band, well, he's back fronting the group, who supported him during his trial
and jailing.
Compassionate friends?
You decide.
Fans of rock music perennially hold Eric Clapton in the highest esteem when it comes to listing
off the greatest guitarists in history.
It's fair to include him in those arguments, as he's written some of the most timeless
songs and is known for some of the most classic riffs and solos ever.
It's when he talks out loud that things sometimes take a turn.
Clapton has usually been the first to admit that he's greatly indebted to the black blues
musicians who came before him.
But if they had been privy to his outburst at a 1976 concert in Birmingham, England,
they might not have been so keen to let him fly their flag.
During his outburst, a drug- and booze-addled Clapton shouted to his concert crowd to, quote,
"keep Britain white."
He also announced his support of Enoch Powell... if you don't know who that is look him up
yourself and see how that'd fly today.
If you didn't look it up, let's just spit it out for you.
He made it very clear that he did not want people of color in what he thought should
be a white country.
The years since have seen Clapton very apologetic, blaming his addiction for his behavior.
But even in remorse, he can't avoid putting his foot in his mouth, saying things like,
quote, "half of my friends were black" and, quote, "I dated a black woman."
Oof.
Not a good look, dude.
Not a good look.
Sebastian Bach, the front man of '80s and '90s hair metal veterans Skid Row, holds a
special place in the hearts of music fans, despite having a dicey history offstage.
Bach wore a T-shirt in 1989 that mocked the AIDS crisis…
You know how on the Raid logo, it says 'kills bugs dead' underneath it.
Well, this says: 'AIDS.
Kills f--- dead.'"
… and that same year chucked a bottle from the stage that ended up breaking a woman's
nose.
He didn't exactly have the most peaceful 1989.
In 2010, Bach was visiting a bar with live music in his Ontario hometown.
Bach asked the singer if he and his buddies could come up and sing a little bit, and the
musician directed them to the pub's manager.
This didn't go over well with Bach.
Not sure why a local entertainer wouldn't want the singer of a world-famous rock band
to join him, Bach and his group began to loudly heckle the artist, even throwing ice cubes
at him from their seats.
The staff at the pub understandably grew more nervous and eventually asked Bach's party
to leave.
The Skid Row singer wanted to take his wine with him, and when that request was denied,
Bach smashed the glass, prompting the owner to call the cops.
Unsurprisingly, Sebastian also took offense to that, the owner put him in a bear hug,
and Bach bit him.
After he'd cooled down, Bach had the usual Canadian sense of humor about the whole incident,
saying, quote, "America gets rock stars a little more than Canada does."
The frontman of the traveling foursome of hedonism that is Motley Crue is someone you
would probably expect to be a little … wild.
But Vince Neil takes that stage character and ramps it up even higher when he's in the
real world.
You may have heard how Vince crashed his car in 1984 while boozed up, killing his passenger,
Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley.
He got off almost completely scot-free, serving about 15 days and then five years of probation.
He earned himself a few more DUIs the following years, one in 2007, and another in 2010.
But it's a Las Vegas altercation involving actor Nicolas Cage that's the most curious.
A young female fan was attempting to ask Cage for an autograph, which Neil somehow mistook
as an aggressive maneuver and yanked her by the hair, pulling her to the ground.
The seemingly intoxicated Neil was then charged at by an even-more-in-the-bag Nicolas Cage,
who pulled Neil away and bear-hugged him, loudly stating his love for the man.
Cage escorted the singer away from trouble, but Neil was still charged with misdemeanor
battery.
Kanye is often lauded as a musical and production genius.
His larger-than-life ego fully believes this, and he acts like it when he takes the stage.
Well, to be more accurate, whenever he feels like rolling up to the venue and eventually
sauntering onto the stage because Kanye is perpetually late for his job.
Never one to shy away from taking the stage several hours late or going on bizarre rants
between songs, or even canceling shows on the fly, West still has fans in his corner
for some reason.
Honestly, we don't understand how you can support a dude who does things like, oh, we
don't know… berate a person with a disability for not standing up?
In 2014, Kanye was feeling very much in the moment and requested that every single person
in the crowd stand up.
He felt that not everyone was partaking, so he stopped the show for a bit and had the
house lights turned on.
The fans at the Sydney concert just weren't meeting his demands, it seemed, and he stated
that he literally could not perform this song until everyone rose.
One fan couldn't help it: They were in a wheelchair.
West continually brought it to the crowd's attention that this person just wasn't following
his orders, despite concertgoers near the fan trying to point out that this person,
you know... physically could not stand up.
West, after wayyyyy too long, finally took the hint and let the person off blast.
That brush with idiocy didn't teach him any lessons, as another show in Australia a few
days later saw West telling the audience that people who weren't standing needed to show
him "proof of disability," whatever that means.
Billy Idol seems to be one of those rock stars who would likely leave his image behind when
he steps offstage.
Sure, he seems cool and sexy and slightly dangerous when he's crooked-lip crooning "White
Wedding" for thousands of people, but you could imagine him quietly retiring to his
hotel room for some tea after a show.
At least, that's what you'd think… if it weren't for his notorious behavior during
his stay in Bangkok in the early '90s.
Idol cooped himself up in a series of hotels and engaged in an extended binge of debauchery
that would make Satan weep.
Somehow during his wild fling, he found time during his three-week stay to do a reported
$200,000 worth of damage to one penthouse suite.
As is to be expected when Billy Idol is partaking in drugs and sex and ransacking rooms, the
military was brought in to help matters.
Idol was strapped to a stretcher by soldiers of the Thai military and forcibly dismissed
from the premises.
Boy George was the androgynous leader of the '80s band Culture Club.
Known for his flamboyant behavior, the singer whose real name is George O'Dowd also privately
suffered from a crippling drug addiction throughout his later career.
Several incidents involved him possessing cocaine or admitting to being on heroin during
his '80s success, but most of them involved him hurting only himself.
That changed in 2009 when Boy George was attempting to conduct a naked photo session in his home
with a male escort.
Cocaine soon entered the equation, and a little later, Boy George became increasingly agitated
with the man, accusing him of trying to hack into his computer.
When the escort tried to protest, George handcuffed him to a wall fixture and retreated to another
room, returning with all sorts of straps, adult toys, and chains.
The rock star then began beating the escort with said chains.
The poor man eventually broke free and fled into the streets.
O'Dowd earned himself a 15-month prison sentence, but celebrity being what it is, he only served
four.
The band R.E.M. has made a pretty good career of making music while also sidestepping a
lot of the notoriety and scandals that can plague a rock band.
Really, the most "Behind the Music"-y episode of their career is when their poor drummer
suffered an aneurysm on stage in the '90s.
But in 2002, guitarist Peter Buck embarked on a flight and attempted to make up for all
those years of boring good behavior at once.
On the Seattle-to-London plane ride, Buck began downing wine like it was the end of
the world, chugging 15 glasses and becoming increasingly belligerent to the flight staff.
He was cut off see: "too little too late" in the dictionary but the shenanigans didn't
stop there.
He tried to grab a bottle of champagne from the galley but was denied.
He punched the wall of the plane loudly and tried to pull a knife from a serving cart.
He brandished a cup of yogurt and a spoon like they were weapons, then splattered several
people with the dairy product.
Buck then tried to open the plane door, saying he was, quote, "going home."
At one point he confused a serving cart with a CD player and also claimed a perfect stranger
was his wife.
These mile-high adventures should have made the assault charges levied against him stick,
but alas, Peter Buck was found innocent.
You might think being shot nine times would give you a more positive outlook on life,
like in a "live well and be good to people" way especially toward your own children and
maybe strangers you meet during your travels.
But 50 Cent, or Curtis Jackson, still harbors resentment toward many, blood relative or
not, and he's not afraid to speak openly about his grudges.
50 Cent has a son named Marquise, and to say they're estranged is a bit of an understatement.
The two have been at odds for over a decade, and when 50 saw an Instagram post of 21-year-old
Marquise in 2018, he publicly commented that if his son got hit by a bus, he, quote, "... wouldn't
have a bad day."
Can you feel the love?
If you were feeling left out, the rapper also can turn his ire toward the general public.
He went on live video to mock a teenage airport employee, thinking he would razz on the youth
of today.
He even put the kid on blast on the video, even as the poor guy just tried to avoid eye
contact and work his job.
50 took this behavior as being on drugs, stating that the teen's pupils were dilated as definitive
proof.
"He high as a motherf-----, right here in the airport.
Pupils dilated and everything, lookin' like that."
The video went viral, and attracted the attention of many, including the teen's parents, who
pointed out that their son was not a druggie but did have autism and social anxiety.
50 eventually gave a weak apology.
Maybe he'll get some dope rhymes out of the whole ordeal.
Buuut... probably not.
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