The Eagles of Death Metal are a modestly popular, kind-of joke band that became slightly less modestly popular in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in France, when their show at the Bataclan became the site for one of the worst tragedies in Paris history, with 89 deaths resulting from an hours-long standoff that at one point involved hostages. In the wake of this event, the Eagles of Death Metal received an understanding outpouring of sympathy and support, even from U2, but it seems that the band has quickly chugged through that good will, and is now being dropped from the bills of French music festivals.
Paris’ Rock en Seine and northern France’s Cabaret Vert have dropped the Eagles of Death Metal because of statements that claim the band saw “terrorists” outside the venue before the show, and that the Bataclan’s security had actually been in on the attack, and that following the attack there were celebrations in the street. He also later said that “everybody has to have guns” in order to prevent attacks like this from happening.
It takes a lot to have a country turn on you after you’ve been the very high-profile victim of said country’s worst terrorist attack, and yet the frontman of Eagles of Death Metal seems to have managed it.