Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst Breaks Silence on Woodstock ’99 Disaster

Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst recently broke his silence on the controversial Woodstock ’99 disaster, much of which came down during the band’s set. The festival was poised to be a major callback to its 1969 predecessor, but rather than peace and love there were riots, arsonand numerous sexual assaults. Much of this was blamed on Limp Bizkit, as they were seen as antagonists of the chaos. Variety brought up the infamous concert to Durst, prompting him to reply, “Limp Bizkit is an easy target so bring it on.”

“It’s easy to point the finger and blame [us], but they hired us for what we do — and all we did is what we do,” he added. “I would turn the finger and point it back to the people that hired us,” Durst then said, seemingly referencing Woodstock ’69 co-founder, Michael Lang, who partnered with promoter John Scher to put on Woodstock ’99.

Scher has not been shy about laying blame at the feet of Durst and Limp Bizkit, reportedly once saying, “Fred Durst, who, if I haven’t said enough times, is a complete a—hole … a moron. He was completely out of his mind.”

Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis disagrees, however. Offering a different viewpoint. “I think Bizkit is being blamed for it because they were the heavy band … I don’t think it was their f—in’ fault,” he’s stated.

Durst maintains that he and then band had no intention of inciting riots, adding that they “were there having a good time. Hey, everybody was having a good time as far as we knew. That’s the truth.”

While Durst is still the frontman for the nu-metal band today, he has also found success as a film director over the past decade. His most recent film is titled The Fanatic, and it stars John Travolta as a crazed fan who stalks his favorite actor, Hunter Dunbar (played by Devon Sawa).

Regarding the balance of being in Limp Bizkit and being a filmmaker, Durst told Billboard, “Actually, believe it or not I still need to be as creative with Limp Bizkit as possible. I suffer a lot from not milking it. I mean financially there’s nothing coming in when you’re not out doing it. But I had to make that decision it’s about the integrity of it.”

“It’s about what I believe Limp Bizkit is and what it is to me. So I suffer financially because I don’t do it. We get offered lots and lots of money and lots of things to do and I just became very good at saying no,” he added.

The Fanatic is scheduled to open in theaters on Aug. 30.

Photo Credit: Frank Micelotta Archive / Getty Images