THE BEAST

PANTERA   frontman   Philip Anselmo   publicly "disavowed" a "White Power" flag that was being displayed during the band's concert in Bulgaria.

The 54-year-old singer made the comment while performing with his bandmates on May 26 in Sofia. He was addressing several fans in the audience who were holding up the sign (see video below). Before launching into the closing song of   PANTERA 's set,   "Cowboys From Hell" , at Arena Sofia in Sofia,   Philip   told the crowd: "Sofia, I gotta say this: incredible audience. One more thing: there's a person over here holding up this sign trying to ruin the fuckin' show. I disavow, I disavow the fuckin' flag. I'm sorry. It's ridiculous, man. Keep politics out of shit. It's boring."

More than seven years ago,   Anselmo   was at the center of controversy after he made a Nazi-style salute when he performed at the January 2016   "Dimebash"   event at the Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood in honor of late   PANTERA   guitarist   "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott . He also appeared to say "white power" as he made the gesture, but later claimed he was joking about drinking white wine backstage and was reacting to the audience members up front who he says were taunting him.

Before he delivered that Nazi salute onstage,   Anselmo   already had a history of making troubling racial statements, including   several white-pride speeches   at various   PANTERA   shows in 1995.

Back in May 2019,   Anselmo   was asked by U.K.'s   Kerrang!   magazine if he feels the   "Dimebash"   debate is something he has moved past. He responded: "I feel like it's ridiculous. I made an off-color joke and 'Boom!' — it's like I'm literally   Hitler ! I'm not. I take each individual one at a time, in the way that any logical individual will. I have love in my heart. Over the years, I've learned to take the first step with love and to put good faith first. I get along with everybody. If there's any doubt about my political leanings, people should get it out of their heads. I was raised amongst a dazzling [cast of characters] from the theatre, from the mental hospital, from all walks of life — all colors, creeds and kinds. It's absurd to me that anyone in this day and age would judge anyone by the color of their skin, their heritage or their religion. I'm a harmless guy. I'm a reactionary, not a troublemaker."

In the days following the   "Dimebash"   incident,   MACHINE HEAD 's   Robb Flynn   — who played   PANTERA   songs with   Anselmo   at the event — released an eleven-minute response video in which he denounced   Anselmo   as a "big bully" and a racist. He concluded by saying that he would never play another   PANTERA   song again.   ANTHRAX 's   Scott Ian , who is Jewish, released a statement on his official web site saying, " Philip 's actions were vile" and invited   Anselmo   to make a donation to the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Vinnie Paul , who hadn't spoken to   Anselmo   since the band's split in 2003, was dismissive when asked for a comment on the singer's white-power salute. "I can't speak for him,"   Vinnie   said in a 2016 interview. "He's done a lot of things that tarnish the image of what   PANTERA   was back then and what it stood for and what it was all about. And it's sad."

In 2017,   Anselmo   blasted "false journalism in the metal community" for suggesting he was racist because of his actions at   "Dimebash" .

In the weeks after the   "Dimebash"   incident,   Anselmo 's   DOWN   project canceled a number of shows, including at France's   Hellfest , Dutch festival   FortaRock   and U.K.'s   Download . The singer wrote an open letter to the   Hellfest   organizers in which he said it was not the right time for   DOWN   to tour. He also revealed that he was suffering from a recurring knee injury and needed rehabilitation.

This past January,   PANTERA 's appearances at two rock festivals in Germany, which were scheduled to take place in early June, and a concert in Austria were canceled following an outcry over   Anselmo 's previous racist remarks.

PANTERA   was scheduled to appear at Gasometer in Vienna on May 31 and at   Rock Am Ring   and   Rock Im Park   festivals in Germany as part of its spring/summer 2023 European tour. However, more than four months ago, promoters released separate statements on social media saying that the shows were scrapped.

There was additional criticism with regard to the fact that   Rock Im Park   takes place in Nürnberg (known in its English form as Nuremberg),where   Hitler   supporters held a series of mass Nazi party rallies between 1933 and 1938.

In calling for   Rock Am Ring   and   Rock Im Park   organizers to cancel   PANTERA 's appearances at the festivals, the German Green Party said in the Nürnberg city council that   Anselmo   "repeatedly and deliberately made Nazi gestures and yelled racist slogans."   Réka Lörincz , the spokeswoman for the Greens against racism and right-wing extremism, added that "the former Nazi party premises" were "being deliberately misused for the staging and reproduction of racist and inhuman ideology." The Green Party rep told Germany's   Stern   magazine that   Anselmo 's apology for his white power outburst was "not credible enough" and that hosting the band on the former Nazi Party rally grounds "clearly exceeds the limit of what is bearable."

“We are relieved about the organizer's decision not to offer the band   PANTERA   a stage. Their singer   Phil Anselmo   had repeatedly attracted attention with anti-Semitic and racist incidents,"   Lörincz   wrote in a statement on   the Green Party's web site . "Therefore, a performance was unimaginable for us — especially on the former Nazi party rally grounds."

In the days leading up to the Vienna concert cancelation, the Green party in Vienna demanded that this performance also be scrapped.

"Due to its National Socialist past, Vienna in particular has a special historical responsibility to oppose any form of right-wing extremism. The appearance of   PANTERA   is completely incompatible with this responsibility," they said in a statement. "Therefore, it can only mean for Vienna: No stage for a   Hitler   salute, no stage for   PANTERA !" Via Blabbermouth