James Hetfield Tells Metallica's Sphere Crowd the Band Isn't There to Push 'Bullshit'

James Hetfield has never been the type to dance around a point. Four shows into Metallica’s 24-date Sphere residency in Las Vegas, the frontman paused Saturday’s set to tell the crowd that the band is not there, like some other entertainers, to influence fans with their“bullshit.”He did not name anyone. He simply said Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, then went back to doing exactly that.

The timing is doing a lot of the talking. Recent weeks have brought a pro-Palestine onstage speech from Macklemore, Tom Morello’s Power to the People festival, and Ed Sheeran removing Macklemore from a support slot. Hetfield has been consistent on this for years, telling interviewers back in 2017 that he hates politics and wants to connect people through music. So while the internet plays detective, longtime fans are pointing out that this is just James being James.

And this conversation is not going anywhere, because Metallica’s Sphere run continues on select Thursdays and Saturdays through March 2027. That’s a lot of Vegas weekends, a lot of flights and hotel rooms, and a lot of chances for this debate to come back around. Where do you stand: should a concert be a total escape, or is the stage fair game for whatever an artist wants to say?