Pick a Day

Music History Events: Musicians Behaving Badly

January 31, 2021 Capping a massive bender, Morgan Wallen yells the n-word at his (white) drinking buddy outside his home. It's caught on video, and when it's released two days later, Wallen is dropped from most radio stations and banished from playlists on major streaming services. The controversy earns him a surge in streams and sales, keeping his Dangerous: The Double Album, which debuted at #1 in America on January 23, at the top for a total of 10 weeks.

February 17, 2015 "Because I Got High" singer Afroman is arrested for assault after punching a female fan who attempts to dance with him on stage at a show in Biloxi, Mississippi. Afroman, who doesn't see the woman until he turns around to clock her, blames his anxiety and says that he hadn't had time to take his meds when he went on stage.More

May 5, 2014 Beyoncé's sister Solange Knowles attacks Jay-Z in an elevator they are all riding after attending the Met Gala at The Standard hotel in New York. The footage, which is leaked on TMZ, shows Jay taking his whooping before a security guard restrains Solange. Beyoncé later mentions the incident in her song "Flawless" when she sings, "sometime s--t go down when there's a billion dollars on an elevator."More

November 6, 2012 US President Barack Obama wins the election to serve a second term. The news is greeted enthusiastically by Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Cher, and many others. However, notoriously conservative Ted Nugent rains on the parade, posting scathing comments on Twitter. Nugent unleashes a volley of insults against Obama supporters, calling them "pimps," "whores," welfare brats," "subhuman varmints," and even more derogatory terms.More

September 21, 2012 When Green Day's set is cut short at the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong flies off the handle, stopping the show and going into a rant where he says, "I'm not f--king Justin Bieber, you motherf--kers. You've got to be f--king joking."More

July 15, 2007 After getting favorable ratings for their unruly reality series Flavor of Love, featuring hip-hop legend Flavor Flav, VH1 decides to cash in on a bygone era of rock n' roll with a similar spectacle called Rock of Love, starring one the biggest names in hair metal: Bret Michaels of Poison.More

June 3, 2007 During a gig in New York, a fan throws something at Akon during his set. The singer brings the offender on stage, picks him up and hurls him into the crowd.More

February 8, 2004 At the Grammy Awards, OutKast is the first hip-hop act to win Album of the Year, for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, and Evanescence takes Best New Artist, beating out 50 Cent, who comes on stage anyway.More

September 7, 2000 Rage Against The Machine bass player Tim Commerford interrupts the MTV Video Music Awards when he climbs up the backdrop on stage, baffling the crew as well as Limp Bizkit, who are accepting the Best Rock Video award for "Break Stuff." Rage was nominated in the category for "Sleep Now in the Fire."More

July 21, 2000 About 7,000 Insane Clown Posse fans, many in clown makeup like the group, descend on the Novi Expo Center in Novi, Michigan for the first Gathering Of The Juggalos. By the end of the Gathering, the place is sticky with Faygo soda and left in ruins - all to be expected at an ICP fete.More

December 2, 1999 Jay-Z stabs the record executive Lance "Un" Rivera at a party at Manhattan's Kit Kat Klub, believing Rivera bootlegged his album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. The rapper pleads guilty to misdemeanor assault and is sentenced to three years probation.

November 23, 1998 After his concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, Marilyn Manson has a backstage run-in with Spin magazine editor Craig Marks, who claims that Manson assaults and threatens to kill him.More

April 7, 1998 George Michael is arrested for disorderly conduct at a park restroom in Beverly Hills, California, after an undercover officer observes him performing a "lewd act." He comes out as gay soon after.More

March 6, 1998 Liam Gallagher of Oasis headbutts 19-year-old British fan Benjamin Jones, breaking his nose. The incident takes place in Brisbane outside of the singer's hotel. Gallagher is charged with assault, but Jones later drops the case and pursues civil charges.

August 14, 1994 Bob Dylan, who refused an invitation to the original 1969 festival, performs on the last day of Woodstock '94, singing "It Ain't Me Babe," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "Masters Of War," "Just Like A Woman," and "Highway 61 Revisited" on the main North Stage. Over on the South Stage, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong wallops fistfuls of mud at fans and incites an all-out mudfight. Bassist Mike Dirnt gets his front teeth knocked out by a security guard in the chaos.

May 19, 1993 Depeche Mode begin their Devotional tour in Lille, France. They reach new levels of excess on the trek, culminating with lead singer Dave Gahan having a heart attack during a show.More

August 30, 1992 Nirvana headline the Reading Festival in England. On the bill is L7, whose frontwoman Donita Sparks throws a (used) tampon into the crowd.More

August 8, 1992 Opening for Guns N' Roses at a show in Montreal, James Hetfield of Metallica is injured by the pyrotechnics, which burn the entire left side of his body. Metallica can't continue, and Guns N' Roses cut their set short after just 15 minutes when Axl Rose leaves the stage, upset over monitor problems. A near riot ensues at Olympic Stadium as fans are not pleased.

December 19, 1985 Johnny Paycheck is drinking at a bar in Hillsboro, Ohio, when two guys recognize him and sit near him. Things get tense, and Paycheck pulls out a .22 pistol and shoots one of them, grazing his head. That man, Larry Wise, claims that Paycheck got testy after they offered him a meal of deer meat and turtle soup. Wise says Paycheck yelled, "What do you think I am, a country hick?," and shot him. The country singer is convicted and serves 22 months in jail.

February 19, 1982 Ozzy Osbourne urinates on a statue near the Alamo, desecrating a Texas landmark.More

June 18, 1978 Grace Slick takes the stage with Jefferson Starship at the Lorelei Festival in Hamburg, Germany, in a state of drunkenness. After she taunts the crowd with comments about Nazis and World War II, the crowd riots, destroying much of their equipment. Slick does not return to the band until 1983.

December 1, 1976 The Sex Pistols appear on the Today programme on London regional TV as a last-minute substitute for Queen. After being goaded by host Bill Grundy, they swear repeatedly, including the dreaded "F" word, shocking sensitive viewers.More

August 11, 1976 Keith Moon trashes a hotel room - no surprise there. But this time The Who drummer is hospitalized after beating up his room at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami.More

March 12, 1974 John Lennon and Nilsson get drunk and disorderly at a Smothers Brothers comedy show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. They get thrown out, and Nilsson takes heat in the press for being a bad influence on Lennon. Said Nilsson: "It ruined my reputation for 10 years. Get one Beatle drunk and look what happens."

December 9, 1967 Jim Morrison of The Doors is arrested at his own concert in New Haven, Connecticut, after a police officer finds him backstage with a young girl and maces him. It's the first time a famous musician is arrested in the middle of a performance.More

December 1, 1959 Chuck Berry meets a young lady named Janice Escalanti in Juarez, Mexico (his band has a show in El Paso that night). After learning she is a runaway, Berry invites her on the tour and takes her back to St. Louis to work at his restaurant. Bad move: she's just 14, which puts Berry in violation of a law against transporting minors across state lines. When their arrangement doesn't work out, she goes to the police, who arrest Berry. He ends up serving 20 months in jail.

October 24, 2022 Adidas joins The Gap, Balenciaga, CAA, and most other companies associated with Kanye West in cutting ties with him over antisemitic comments he made on a podcast and on social media. It's a big financial hit for Adidas, as West's Yeezy line accounts for an estimated 6% of their sales.

July 4, 2015 Ariana Grande licks some donuts on a display counter at Wolfee Donuts in Lake Elsinore, California.More

September 1, 2011 While boarding a Southwest flight from Oakland to Burbank, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong is forced off the flight after giving some lip to a flight attendant who asked him to pull up his sagging pants. Armstrong doesn't take kindly to the request, and eventually he and his traveling companion are booted from the flight. Armstrong takes to Twitter, writing, "Just got kicked off a southwest flight because my pants sagged too low!" The tweet is quickly re-tweeted by his followers, forcing Southwest to release a statement apologizing for the incident.

April 9, 2009 Following a contentious interview where he insults Canadian audiences, Billy Bob Thornton's music career hits a roadblock when he and his band the Boxmasters are booed at their show in Toronto opening for Willie Nelson. The Boxmasters cancel their remaining Canadian dates the next day.More