Former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo has rubbished claims still being thrown at him that he’s a racist, after making a Nazi-style salute and screaming “white power” at a concert earlier this year.
Anselmo has already issued a public apology (below) and now speaking with Decibel recently (via Blabbermouth) he’s said this is the last apology he’ll give for the “joke”, which took place when he was “smashed drunk”.
Admitting that what he did was “insulting, absolutely, and abhorrent”, Anselmo says, “It hurts my heart that anyone would think that I’m the dreaded ‘R’ word – a racist.
“Anyone who truly knows me knows that it’s utterly ridiculous. But if I did offend my Jewish friends, people I work with, my associates, other people in bands – that’s why I apologised. That apology is there – and no, you won’t get another one ever again.”
Apparently on the night of the incident, Anselmo had been heckled by crowd members who called him “racist”, so it’s an interesting tactic to respond to a jab like that with something which basically enflames their taunts.
Anselmo agrees that he shouldn’t have done it, but maintains, “My sense of humour is dark and my temper is and always has been volatile.
“I reacted in an ignorant way. I own it. But do I believe in it? That’s ridiculous.”
Earlier this month, former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul told R7 (via Team Rock) that while he hasn’t spoken to Anselmo since 2000, “He’s done a lot of things that tarnish the image of what Pantera was.”
Watch Anselmo’s original video apology for the Nazi-style salute, below.
Watch: Phil Anselmo Apology
