this is the same anonymous as the book quote, I just wanted to add some things (this turned out into quite a big ramble so I apologise, I don’t expect you to read it all or reply to this). this is not targeted at you, but at generally how the fandom has been this week:
it’s not my intention to stir the pot or whatever with James’ past, or to make you dislike him. I think theres a very big portion of the Metallica fandom (fandom being the more parasocial side, which I’ll admit I’m probably part of by definition, but that’s an entirely different debate) that has an issue with idolising, especially the younger fans by being naive. ‘james/kirk/jason/lars would never!’ they probably would; none of them are perfect. they were grown men that lived rather hedonistically for 15-20 years of their career, all with their individual issues in their pasts. but there is nuance in it. I don’t believe any of the guys are genuine malicious pieces of shit, but they have all had their share of mistakes on varying levels of severity. they’re human.
I’m not excusing whatever mistakes they’ve made, but there is at least reasoning for it. you can still find the better parts of James attractive and acknowledge his faults; you can still look up to him for the better choices he has made and acknowledge he is certainly not perfect. it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, but it takes a while to get over the initial disappointment.
I dug too deep into their ‘lore’ a few years back, so the disappointment has been and gone for me, I’ve sort of accepted it and whatever else has come to light since (and thankfully with RPF you can just… not make them dickbags lmfao). I focus more on the earlier eras because they weren’t trying to hide themselves as much as today; my real issue with current Metallica is their PR/management and social media team, not so much the guys themselves.
hopefully this whole thing with J&A’s engagement and fran’s comments (she’s stronger than me because I would’ve called him out years ago if I was in her shoes lmfao) will open more eyes to how james has actually been these past couple decades - and specifically that metallica’s PR/social media team are very good at what they do. the whole ‘papa het’ stuff cultivates quite a nice image buffer to who he really is, as many people - specifically outside of the fandom side - do not know any better than what they’re given, and will defend their idol (as seen in the comments after fran spoke up)
I realise this makes it sound like some sort of conspiracy lmfao, I’m more pointing out what his kids have said about him, how he's treated his family, his views, the company he’s choosing to keep etc. he’s not some benevolent music god, he’s just a man who’s got a bad track record of decision making (but he’s trying on some extent to better himself). there are a lot of people dragging fran and calling her bitter for speaking up, because she must be in the wrong as papa het hasn’t done a single bad thing since 2001! (sarcasm)
I forgot to add, the end of the initial quote I sent is referring to when james went to russia in 2001 for a solo hunting trip, sometime in the presidio sessions, and basically drowned himself in alcohol (not literally, he just drank a shitload, he went to rehab after this). I’m not sure if this is the same trip where he missed castor’s first birthday (yes, that happened too).
I’m glad fran spoke up. her comments essentially validated my gut feeling on the engagement and adriana anyway, it didn't feel good to me - I don’t blame her for finally saying something because it would seriously be a kick in the teeth to find out like that (yes, some might argue she could’ve made a more concise and thought-out statement but bffr, she’s obviously in shock/hurt). james did not tell his family about his plans to re-marry, and notice how none of the guys have officially congratulated him, at least as far as I am aware.
I won’t go into stuff about adriana because that also is a lengthy topic, and this message is long enough lmfao - but I will state I do not condone any cyberbullying/harrassment to her, even if I do dislike her.
I do wish the best for james, as frustrating as all this is. he's been a troubled guy for most of his life, and maybe he truly is happy with adriana, we won't really know. happy james = happy metallica = more music that we all love, hopefully.
anyway, sorry again for the big rant/ramble, these are just a few thoughts I’ve had particularly this week as a lurker on here. it’s just my opinion on it all, though. losing a hyperfixation/special interest sucks, so hopefully you can find a middle ground (if you want to).
As a young fan of Metallica (i am a teenager), I'm really tired of people defending grown ass men saying "they would never!". When they WOULD, and WORSE.
At the start, I defended James too much, but now I'm kinda getting tired of his defenders. He's not a 'bad' man, but he's not an angel like some people say!
I believe he wanted to change, to become a better person, but that doesn't erase the fact that he was a total idiot (especially in the 90s).
I'm on Fran's side, totally. I'm happy that she's finally speaking the truth.
When I said in another post that I was losing my hyper fixation, that was partly true, because I don't think I'll ever stop liking Metallica, or James. Because since when I started liking them I was going through a really bad time in my life, and their music helped me a lot.
Especially James, I know this is extremely stupid, but even if he's an idiot I admire him. He saved my life 💔 I still 'loving' him, but it's disappointing to know everything he has done (I knew it from the start, tho). He makes me happy. BUT, I don't defend his actions. Not all of them.
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