Earlier this week, Waters, 83, appeared on a new episode of the podcast The Katie Halper Show, where the host, an American left-wing commentator, guided the musician through some of Metallica’s past politically conscious lyrics, including those on 1986’s Disposable Heroes and 1988’s …And Justice For All.
Halper then showed Waters an interview Hetfield gave in 2007, around their performance at the climate change charity concert Live Earth, where he said “politics drive me crazy”.
She went on to revisit the time in 2008 when Hetfield reacted to Metallica’s music being played during the US torture of Iraqi prisoners (he explained in a separate interview that he was partially “bummed” about it and didn’t want the band “being attached to some political statement”).
After this whistle-stop tour of Hetfield’s political history, Waters is asked for his reaction. “He’s just showing that he’s a complete prick,” he states. “He’s got an IQ of about three, and why we’re talking about him, I don’t even know, because he’s a nobody. He may have a few hundred million dollars or whatever, but he’s a prick.”
Why, it’s as if:
Metal heads are nice people dressing up and pretending to be mean people.
Hippies are mean people dressing up and pretending to be nice people. https://t.co/bea8NBMlam
— Marc J. Randazza 🇺🇸 🇮🇹 🇧🇷 (@marcorandazza) October 14, 2026