00:00All right, partner. Keep on rolling, baby. You know what time it is.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:08And today, we're looking at more bands whose art and legacy were negatively impacted by controversies surrounding a single member.
00:26Arcade Fire.
00:28Wynn Butler.
00:29Indie legends Arcade Fire have released a string of highly influential albums since the 2000s.
00:36The singing-songwriting couple of Wynn Butler and Regine Chassain were responsible for a lot of the charm that endeared the fans.
00:48However, in 2022, five different women accused Butler of misconduct, namely through assaults that happened
00:56after initial contact through social media.
00:59It became clear that all was not well within the band.
01:09Butler denied the accusations, saying everything was consensual.
01:14And while his wife supported these statements, it left a very bad taste in everyone's mouth.
01:19When their album Pink Elephant came out in 2025, it was a commercial and critical flop.
01:25All of the stations that I looked at that routinely played them dropped Arcade Fire by sometime probably on Monday.
01:32Brand new, Jessie Lacey.
01:38Emo rockers brand new released some of the most popular and acclaimed works of their era, despite the success of the music.
01:46In 2017, the band broke up after a number of allegations came out about singer Jessie Lacey, specifically in relation to underage girls.
02:01Lacey released a statement admitting that he suffered from vices, but made no reference to the age of the girls in question.
02:08In 2025, when brand new attempted a comeback, another woman claimed that she was half Lacey's age when he groomed her, once again, putting the frontman's activities under the spotlight.
02:20These days, it's hard to think about brand new at all without this coming to mind.
02:25This is so messed up.
02:28Noir Desir, Bertrand Cantat.
02:32The band Noir Desir might not be too well known to those of you outside of France, but their singer, Bertrand Cantat, is one of the most infamous musical figures of his era.
02:50The band were a huge sensation in their home country, boasting a string of hits and legions of fans.
03:02But in 2003, Cantat flew into a jealous rage and Brewerley beat his then-girlfriend, actress Marie Trenton-Yant.
03:12She died in the hospital a few days later, landing Cantat an eight-year prison sentence.
03:18He served just four of those years and briefly attempted a comeback, but was petitioned out of any further live performances.
03:26He tried to book Crystal Castle's Ethan Kath.
03:32Canadian synth-pop duo Crystal Castle's had a successful run of albums in the late 2000s and 2010s,
03:44before Alice Glass abruptly announced that she was leaving the group in 2014.
03:50At the time, she cited personal and professional issues.
03:53But three years later, she revealed that creative partner Ethan Kath was nothing less than an emotionally abusive control freak who abused her in many different ways.
04:10He supposedly controlled her phone, passport, and credit card, while threatening that he would replace her in an instant if she quit.
04:22It didn't take long for several other women to come forth, accusing Kath of preying on them when they were teenagers.
04:29Limp Bizkit.
04:30Fred Durst.
04:31No band sums up the new metal scene of the 90s and 2000s quite like Limp Bizkit, specifically frontman Fred Durst, though the band actually are solid musicians.
04:43When they come to play, it's clearly the Fred Durst Show.
04:46He was the biggest star on the stage, but in the band's peak years, his ego was out of control.
05:01It was as if your least favorite high school jock was given a microphone and an audience.
05:11Thurst marketed the band based on how unlikable he was, and sure.
05:16While the group have now fully embraced the tongue-in-cheek side of their appeal these days, Durst's reputation remains the same.
05:27The Smiths.
05:29Morrissey.
05:30As soon as the Smiths come up in conversation, two things are bound to pop into someone's head.
05:36One is that the legendary band was a tremendous influence on indie pop, and that frontman Morrissey is insufferable.
05:43He has always been a prickly character for his narcissistic, outrageous, and sometimes confrontational appearance in the media.
05:56While this was traditionally a part of his left-wing activism, he may be more infamous now for supporting British nationalism.
06:03Morrissey is such a walking, talking, controversy machine that even though the Smiths broke up in 1987, their legacy is still blemished by the frontman's recent antics.
06:22Stop, stop watching the news, because the news contrives to frighten you.
06:31Marilyn Manson.
06:33Marilyn Manson.
06:34Marilyn Manson was always a guy who wanted to push the limits of what is acceptable in music and live performance.
06:42In other words, he's a pretty edgy dude.
06:44But as much as the lead singer of his namesake band seemed to openly enjoy the controversy, when more than a dozen women came out and accused him of assaults, public opinion started to change.
07:02One of these women was actress and former fiancée Evan Rachel Wood.
07:06Would you say that it's a fair assessment to say that he kind of came as advertised?
07:11No, I mean, I don't think the world would have put him on such a pedestal.
07:15Eventually, Manson was dealing with a host of allegations that included assaults, domestic violence, intimidation, and even anti-Semitism.
07:23In the end, no charges were formally filed, but his reputation never fully recovered.
07:28I slay to a world that doesn't give up.
07:33Guns N' Roses
07:36There's no denying that Guns N' Roses are hard rock and heavy metal legends.
07:43But the fact remains that their lead singer Axl Rose could be a real pain to work with.
07:53Not only is he a legendary diva who routinely shows up incredibly late for shows, but he has also engaged in multiple feuds and written some pretty problematic lyrics.
08:04It's no surprise that Rose is the only constant member of the band since they started.
08:14Even G&R's biggest fans know that Axl is not the type of guy you'd want to invite over for dinner.
08:20But hey, at least the songs are good.
08:22Ike and Tina Turner
08:27Ike and Tina Turner were a legendary husband and wife musical duo that achieved a string of hits across multiple decades.
08:36They were often singled out as one of the best acts of their era.
08:40But behind the scenes, Turner was suffering serious emotional and physical abuse at the hands of Ike.
08:53Aggressive behavior, often fueled by substance use disorder, eventually led to a divorce in 1976.
08:59The revelations instantly changed the way that people looked at Ike and his old records.
09:05But thankfully, it turns out that Tina was a lot better off without his connections.
09:10She achieved one of the greatest career comebacks in music history in the 1980s with a huge run of solo hits.
09:17What's love got to do?
09:20It's got to do with it.
09:22Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
09:28You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
09:32If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
09:38The Sex Pistols
09:40Sid Vicious
09:41The Sex Pistols were marketed based on the raw chaos and disorder that surrounded them.
09:47But when Sid Vicious joined the band, things changed.
09:57Sure, the bassist was seen as a punk pioneer who had a huge hand in popularizing the genre.
10:03But when the band dissolved and his relationship with his girlfriend Nancy Spungen became unhinged, things got very dark.
10:09Vicious and Spungen's substance use and intense outbursts eventually led to Vicious fatally stabbing Spungen.
10:16Sid claimed to have no idea whether he killed Nancy or not.
10:20Nobody knows for sure what happened on that night, but Vicious would die of an overdose four months later.
10:26Listening to the Sex Pistols is near impossible without thinking of this tragic tale.
10:31Are there any other big examples of scandalized bands that we missed?
10:41Let us know in the comments below.
10:43There's nothing to suggest that in less than two hours, he'll be dead.
10:46We'll be right back next to him.
10:56Thanks for joining us.
Comments