THE BEAST

Kerry King   spoke to   Westword   about the criticism   SLAYER   frontman   Tom Araya   drew from some of the band's fans in January when a photoshopped picture of   Donald Trump   and the members of   SLAYER   appeared on their   Instagram   account.   Araya   posted the image and later chastised fans who objected to the photo, saying that he "thought it was funny" and that anyone who disagrees should keep quiet.

The same image first appeared on the official   SLAYER Instagram   account on inauguration day, but was mysteriously removed before being reposted a few days later.

"A band's social-media site is for things that a band agrees on to put up," said   King . "I've never put anything up on our band site, ever. When that went up, it didn't strike a wonderful chord with me. It's nothing I'm going to waste my time worrying about. I don't have any personal social media, so I put up my thoughts on my wife's social media, just so people know not everybody thinks the same and that it's okay to be that way."

A   SLAYER   band representative told   Rolling Stone   that   Tom   took it upon himself to post the photo and stressed that the image was "not something the band would have posted if asked," insisting that such a picture "does not belong on a   SLAYER   social page." The representative added: "We all have our personal opinions, some of which we have voiced in the past, but   SLAYER   has never endorsed any political party or any candidate, and the band intends to keep it that way."   King   also chimed in via his wife's   Instagram   account, saying that "my opinion is that our war of words should be with people who don't believe what   SLAYER   is about. NOT with our own fan base."

King   told   Westword   that he and   Araya   never spoke about the incident, since it happened while the band was on hiatus. By the time   SLAYER   regrouped for the next round of live shows, the tension had blown over.

Although he describes himself as a political independent,   King   didn't mince words when talking about   Trump . "I never used to wake up and watch   CNN , but I do now — just to see what fucking idiocy this guy's said that day," the guitarist told   Westword . "It's not even weekly. It's fucking daily."

Araya   told the Chilean radio station   Futuro   in April that he was "taken aback by the response" to his decision to post the   Trump   photo and insisted that he "didn't realize that [he] was gonna piss so many   SLAYER   fans off." He explained: "That's what America has become. It's become a bunch of people that… because they didn't get their way, they're mad. I shared a picture that I thought was funny. They can't even joke. They can't even laugh at themselves. They can't even have fun. And that just is amazing that it's come to that. We're a nation of crybabies. [ Laughs ]"

Even though   Araya   expected to get some flak for posting the   Trump   photo, the ferocity of the reaction from   SLAYER   fans surprised him. "I didn't realize it was gonna be the way it was, which is blown out of proportion and people saying really mean things," he said. "I'm amazed. I was just amazed at the response, as far as people thinking it's funny and they thought it was great and they support   Trump , and other people that didn't like it, they thought it was ugly and they can't believe that I support   Trump . [ Laughs ] I don't even support   Trump . I didn't vote for   Trump   and I didn't vote for   Hillary   [ Clinton ]. Those are two people that are the furthest from… that I would ever vote for. I was taken aback by the response and how people reacted. But it was all in fun. It was all to make people laugh, 'cause I thought it was funny. And also to piss some people off. I just didn't realize that I was gonna piss so many   SLAYER   fans off. [ Laughs ]"

SLAYER   drummer   Paul Bostaph   last year called   Donald Trump   "the biggest joke I've ever seen in my life," and referred to some of   Trump 's rhetoric as "the scariest shit I've ever seen as an American — in my lifetime." Similarly,   King   said that   Trump   was "the biggest liar I've ever seen in politics," clarifying, "I mean, most of them are liars, but he just outright in-your-face lies."   King 's words were echoed by his   SLAYER   bandmate   Gary Holt   who described   Trump   as a "serial liar" who refused to disavow former   Ku Klux Klan   grand wizard   David Duke . Via Blabbermouth