Comedian Kevin Hart, who is currently on a publicity tour, with his pal Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, for the forthcoming movie, Jumanji: The Next Level, has been pictured wearing an Exodus T-shirt.
After viewing some of the footage posted online, Exodus guitarist Gary Holt, posted the following message to his Instagram account:
“”Okay everyone… yes I’ve seen this! Haha! Is he a fan? I highly doubt it, more likely his stylist bought it for a small fortune at some vintage tee shirt shop, if it’s not a modern bootleg. How do I feel? Eh. Another dude using metal shirts to look edgy. Who knows? BUT. I’m a HUGE Kevin Hart fan, so I give him a pass cause he makes me laugh my ass off!”
Hart is just the latest in a growing trend of celebrities wearing heavy metal t-shirts as high fashion. Rapper Kanye West has previously been criticized for repping vintage band tees, and Kim Kardashian is regularly spotted wearing Metallica t-shirts.
Back in 2017, Kim’s half-siblings, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, used iconic rock images of Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, KISS, Led Zeppelin, etc. superimposed with their own, to sell as T-shirts (see them here). The Jenners apologized for the offensive merchandise.
Additionally, after Kendall Jenner was seen getting wearing a Slayer T-shirt, guitarist Gary Holt, who also plays with SLAYER — apparently responded by wearing a t-shirt onstage that read “Kill The Kardashians”.
According to blabbermouth.net, after Kanye West was spotted wearing a Testament t-shirt in 2016, the band’s guitarist Alex Skolnick reacted negatively in an online post, writing, “Goodness gracious. This whole decrepit clan must have picked up a pile of old concert t-shirts (the same pile Kourtney K’s Slayer shirt came from) which have somehow become a ‘thing’ in trendy fashion (who’d have thought?!!). Inconceivable that any of these pop-culture vultures know who the heck any of the bands are. My guess is he thinks it’s a religious group (not the first time that’s happened). That is, if he thinks at all, which lately seems unlikely. And I thought this time period couldn’t get any weirder…”
18 Responses
Not a fan of poseurs who think metal is nothing more than fashion.
Was Kip Winger really a Sacred Reich fan? NO. lol…
Who knows? He might have been, he’s a musician. I would trust he has far more knowledge of the genre, then the Kardoucheians.
To me its kind of a gray area. I would never wear a Harley Davidson shirt cause I don’t ride. However I got Coors light & Miller Lite tshirts. I don’t drink either one ! Free publicity is free publicity. Hopefully one of “their” fans will see attire and take interest. Doubtful but hopefull !
Products, or logos are one thing, pretending to be a fan of band, to me, is horse of another color. Again, it is all a matter of perspective.
I’m relieved that none of the metal musicians are filing complaints with the United Nations with accusations of “cultural appropriation”.
To me, a “Kill the Kardashians” t-shirt seems more in line with the spirit of metal.
LOL!!! Cultural appropriation, another polarizing topic.
If I’m a fan of the band, I wear the shirt. But, if not a fan, you wont see me wearing a Justine Beiber shirt.
Back in the day you can tell a Metal fan by them proudly wearing a metal band shirts. Now ? You can’t tell. In the 80s, I went to college with a girl who wore preppy clothes, then she came to school with a Maiden shirt on. I said “Oh, no preppy clothes had to wear your brothers metal shirts? She said. “No she was just at a Maiden concert and is big fan.”
Okay, well at least she was a fan.
Back in the 80’s, for me, it was my MC jacket (which I still have and is back in style), metal shirts, ripped jeans and high top sneakers. Then, my boyfriend complained, so I had to wear the occasional skirt and dress-LOL!