Eagles of Death Metal Dropped From French Music Festivals After Anti-Muslim Comments

The Eagles of Death Metal have been dropped from two French music festivals this summer after anti-Muslim commentary on last year’s Paris terrorist attacks by the band’s lead singer.

The Rock en Seine concert in Paris and the Cabaret Vert festival in northern France released a statement Friday, cited by the Associated Press, in which the groups said they are “in total disagreement” with recent statements made by the band’s frontman Jessie Hughes. Hughes gave an interview last week with the online Taki’s Magazine, saying he saw “terrorists” in the venue before the fateful concert at the Bataclan on Nov. 13 and that he witnessed “Muslims celebrating in the street during the attack.”

The Eagles of Death Metal are an American band that was performing in Paris when terrorists opened fire on the crowd, leaving some 89 people dead as part of coordinated terror attacks on the city of Paris. This is not the first time Hughes’ comments about the night have put him on hot water. In March, he posted a now-deleted apology online after he accused Bataclan security guards of conspiring with the assailants.