Photo: Screenshot
Phil Anselmo, former frontman of Pantera, has offered to leave his new band Down after being filmed doing a Nazi salute and screaming, "White power."
The incident took place at Dimebash 2016, which pays tribute to Anselmo's late bandmate, Dimebag Darrell. At the end of his set, as the crowd cheered, Anselmo stood away from his microphone, held a Nazi salute for several seconds and yelled, "White power!" before walking off.
Footage of the incident has been seen by nearly 800,000 people and has, of course, attracted widespread criticism. Though Anselmo initially dismissed it as a "joke", he's now released a statement apologising for his actions.
"Every citizen in this entire world has the unalienable right to live with dignity and respect without hate or oppression," his statement reads. "And I mean this, with all of my crushed, yet, guilty heart. It’s common knowledge that we can choose to either learn from our mistakes, or continue on a path of insensitivity and destruction."
He continues, "I am utterly responsible for the mistakes I have made, and can only give you my word to no longer do them in the present, through ACTION, not just mere words. My band mates are now experiencing the consequences of my behavior, and I now publicly apologize to them as well. Never in my entire lifetime would I drag them down with me, and I’ve privately suggested to them that they move on without me."
Read Phil Anselmo's full statement here.
