- 2 weeks ago
When talent meets controversy, legacies can be forever tarnished. Join us as we look at bands whose reputations were severely damaged by the actions of just one member. From murder and assault to fraud and abuse, these musicians managed to overshadow their group's artistic achievements with shocking personal scandals.
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00But there's still tomorrow, forget the sorrow.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:07And today, we're looking at 30 bands whose reputations have been tarnished by the actions of one of their members.
00:14This is the end for you, my friend.
00:20Hole, Courtney Love.
00:22When people think of Hole these days, they don't usually focus on the music as much as they should.
00:27Come on, take everything, take everything I want you to.
00:33Despite being among the most important and critically acclaimed bands of the grunge and alternative rock eras,
00:39their notorious lead singer has, well, and truly stolen their shine.
00:43Courtney Love is a divisive figure, to put it mildly.
00:47Oh, look at my face.
00:50My name is mighty beyond.
00:52After her heavily publicized relationship with Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and his untimely death,
00:58Love became a pretty easy character for people to antagonize.
01:02Hold on, please.
01:04Don't get us wrong.
01:06She didn't help matters with her consistently outrageous behavior and her constant feuds with contemporaries.
01:11These days, even a mere mention of her name is going to summon up memories of her dramas and scandals, rather than her music.
01:26Pentagram.
01:27Bobby Liebling.
01:28Pentagram is a truly iconic trailblazer of the Doom Metal genre,
01:33fronted by a man who has been described as the U.S. Ozzy Osbourne,
01:37but without the money or sustained success.
01:39Morningless nights my need to grow, I come to desecrate your bones.
01:46Like Osbourne, Bobby Liebling is definitely a troubled character who, despite his musical talents,
01:52has a string of legal issues that never seem to stop popping up.
01:56Once you shed your death with me, a fool I shall forever be.
02:02From petty behavior to bandmates and assault charges that landed him in prison to
02:06extremely inappropriate behavior with women,
02:09Liebling is a complicated one.
02:11I'm not a bad guy.
02:13I'm really not a bad guy underneath.
02:15Though he was fired and later rehired by Pentagram,
02:18it's hard to know exactly how long the band will stick with such a volatile frontman at the helm.
02:23A king always knows what he means.
02:27Oh my!
02:28Capsize.
02:30Daniel Wand.
02:31Nick Lopez.
02:33Melodic hardcore band Capsize managed to get some buzz in the 2010s,
02:37thanks to a string of records released under the label Equal Vision.
02:41Throw what I should describe, yeah!
02:45However, at the end of the decade, a number of disturbing allegations toward not one,
02:52but two of their members began to surface.
02:54Lock me!
02:55Walk me, walk me, walk me!
02:56Rain down on me!
02:58Misconduct was at the forefront of the issues presented against Daniel Wand and Nick Lopez.
03:03Sometimes, even with underage fans.
03:07The pair made some attempts to explain things away, but in the end,
03:10the group quietly disbanded shortly after.
03:12In 2022, they made an attempt at a comeback, but the damage was already done.
03:18Blades of the run!
03:20Blades of the run!
03:21Blades of the run!
03:22Blades of the run!
03:23Kasabian.
03:25Tom Meehan.
03:26Anthemic rockers Kasabian managed to sustain their success for quite a long period,
03:30becoming well-known as a riveting arena rock band.
03:33I'll be up to machines.
03:36I'll be our prisoner.
03:39Album after album produced hit after hit in the U.K., and they eventually found themselves
03:45with a pretty large devoted audience.
03:46I'm on fire!
03:54However, when it emerged that lead singer Tom Meehan had assaulted his fiancée, he was
03:59quickly fired from the group.
04:01They continued on without him, with guitarist Sergei Pizzorno taking over the lead vocals.
04:06But for many fans, their golden era had officially ended.
04:09We're gonna give you all the time.
04:15Meehan has since entered rehab and launched a solo career, but the idea of a full band reunion
04:20seems unlikely.
04:22We're gonna give you all the time.
04:28Lights over Paris.
04:30Robert Mawinney.
04:32Musicians getting arrested for possession of substances, public disorder, or even all-out
04:37assault is nothing new.
04:38Down in Calais.
04:41The girls drink till they go crazy.
04:43However, Lights over Paris are probably best known to the masses due to their singer Robert
04:48Mawinney's dodgy financial dealings.
04:50The frontman had spent years presenting the band as more successful than they actually
04:59were, using fraudulent documentation to get bank loans he never intended to pay back.
05:04Through his money laundering and loan stealing, he was estimated to have conned $11 million
05:08out of banks.
05:10He was sentenced to seven years in prison, and of course, the band did not survive.
05:15Turn off the lights, whoa, turn off the lights.
05:21Champion.
05:22Jim Hesketh.
05:24Champion was a straight-edge, hardcore punk band that garnered a cult following in the
05:28early 2000s.
05:29They get shot of a few.
05:33The proud display of the dude.
05:36However, despite having what appeared to be a positive trajectory, they abruptly disbanded
05:41in 2006.
05:42A few years later, with ex-bandmates plying their trade in the punk scene, several allegations
05:47had surfaced relating to their singer and founding member, Jim Hesketh.
05:56Numerous women, who were all underage at the time of allegedly meeting Hesketh, claimed
06:01that he had assaulted them.
06:02Hesketh attempted to fight the allegations in court, but has since all but disappeared
06:07from the public eye.
06:08Mr. Bungle
06:14Theo Lengiel
06:16Mr. Bungle are oddball rock darlings who enjoyed a long and widely adored run in the
06:2290s, prior to their initial breakup.
06:24Fronted by Mike Patton, their cult status remains strong to this day.
06:28It's not funny, my ass is on fire.
06:32However, founding member Theo Lengiel, after leaving the band in 1996, hit the headlines
06:38in 2023 for the most grim reason imaginable.
06:41Lengiel was eventually found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to a minimum term of 25
06:47years.
06:48The band didn't make any form of comment on the arrest, but after such a long period of
06:53time, it wasn't really expected of them.
06:55Reason that we did it!
06:59Blood on the Dancefloor
07:01Davi Vanity
07:02MySpace was the proving ground that saw Davi Vanity and his band Blood on the Dancefloor
07:08make it big.
07:08You're checking, little bitch!
07:11To most modern music fans, the band themselves won't ring a bell, but the name of their
07:17frontman just might.
07:25Dateline NBC's Chris Hansen actually brought Vanity's name to public attention when he
07:30announced that he would be investigating the singer for his ever-growing string of allegations.
07:34It would appear that based on the merch, based upon the lyrics, that Davi Vanity was trying
07:41to appeal to a very vulnerable set of young women.
07:45Edginess was always a part of the band's image, but Vanity was accused of extremely inappropriate
07:51behavior and all-out assault, sometimes to underage fans.
07:55Since 2009, there have been 21 different women who have accused him, although no criminal
08:02charges have managed to stick.
08:04I don't want to be like you
08:11Anti-Flag
08:12Justin Sane
08:13Anti-Flag lead singer Justin Sane certainly has a provocative name, that's for sure.
08:19His band were also pretty popular, releasing a string of albums in the 90s and 2000s before
08:24signing with RCA Records.
08:26And I'm the TV screen diversion and emotion is the flavor of the day!
08:29This earned them some pretty heavy criticism, given that they were fiercely anti-capitalist.
08:39Even more controversial was the revelation that Justin Sane was on the receiving end
08:43of several allegations of assault by women of varying ages. One of his accusers' legal team
08:49estimated that as many as 60 women had been wronged by Sane over the years. Needless to say,
08:56the band didn't last long after this.
08:58I can't forgive, I won't forget!
09:03Derek and the Dominoes
09:04Jim Gordon
09:05Derek and the Dominoes was the short-lived project that carried Eric Clapton over from his
09:10time with Cream and Blind Faith to his eventual solo career.
09:14It's too late, she's gone.
09:17Their drummer, Jim Gordon, became a truly infamous figure after the band's dissolution,
09:24following a downward spiral in his mental health.
09:27In 1983, a psychotic episode brought about by schizophrenia led Gordon to murder his own mother,
09:34claiming that a voice had told him to do it.
09:36He spent the last 40 years of his life in jail, never attending his own parole hearings.
09:47Decades later, he was still described as a danger to himself and to society,
09:52due to his mental health issues.
09:54Arcade Fire
10:03Indie legends Arcade Fire have released a string of highly influential albums since the 2000s.
10:09The singing-songwriting couple of Winn Butler and Regine Chassain were responsible for a lot of
10:15the charm that endeared the fans.
10:22However, in 2022, five different women accused Butler of misconduct,
10:28namely through assaults that happened after initial contact through social media.
10:33It became clear that all was not well within the band.
10:37And while his wife supported these statements, it left a very bad taste in everyone's mouth.
10:53When their album Pink Elephant came out in 2025, it was a commercial and critical flop.
10:59All of the stations that I looked at that routinely played them
11:03dropped Arcade Fire by sometime probably on Monday.
11:05Brand new, Jessie Lacey.
11:12Emo rockers Brand New released some of the most popular and acclaimed works of their era,
11:18despite the success of the music.
11:20In 2017, the band broke up after a number of allegations came out about singer Jessie Lacey,
11:27specifically in relation to underage girls.
11:30Lacey released a statement admitting that he suffered from vices, but made no reference to the
11:40age of the girls in question.
11:42In 2025, when Brand New attempted a comeback, another woman claimed that she was half Lacey's
11:49age when he groomed her once again, putting the frontman's activities under the spotlight.
11:54These days, it's hard to think about brand new at all without this coming to mind.
11:59This is so messed up.
12:01Noir Desir, Bertrand Cantat.
12:12The band Noir Desir might not be too well known to those of you outside of France,
12:17France, but their singer Bertrand Cantat is one of the most infamous musical figures of his era.
12:24The band were a huge sensation in their home country, boasting a string of hits and legions of fans.
12:30But in 2003, Cantat flew into a jealous rage and brutally beat his then-girlfriend,
12:44actress Marie Trintignant. She died in the hospital a few days later, landing Cantat
12:50an eight-year prison sentence. He served just four of those years and briefly attempted a comeback,
12:56but was petitioned out of any further live performances. He tried to book. Crystal Castles,
13:03Ethan Kath.
13:11Canadian synth-pop duo Crystal Castles had a successful run of albums in the late 2000s and 2010s,
13:18before Alice Glass abruptly announced that she was leaving the group in 2014. At the time,
13:24she cited personal and professional issues.
13:34But three years later, she revealed that creative partner Ethan Kath was nothing less
13:39than an emotionally abusive control freak who abused her in many different ways.
13:47He supposedly controlled her phone, passport, and credit card, while threatening that he would
13:52replace her in an instant if she quit. It didn't take long for several other women to come forth,
13:58accusing Kath of preying on them when they were teenagers.
14:02Limp Bizkit. Fred Durst. No band sums up the new metal scene of the 90s and 2000s
14:09quite like Limp Bizkit, specifically frontman Fred Durst. Though the band actually are solid musicians,
14:16when they come to play, it's clearly The Fred Durst Show. He was the biggest star on the stage,
14:30but in the band's peak years, his ego was out of control. It was as if your least favorite high
14:36school jock was given a microphone and an audience. Durst marketed the band based on how unlikable he
14:48was. And sure, while the group have now fully embraced the tongue-in-cheek side of their appeal
14:53these days, Durst's reputation remains the same. The Smiths. Morrissey. As soon as the Smiths come
15:05up in conversation, two things are bound to pop into someone's head. One is that the legendary
15:11band was a tremendous influence on indie pop and that frontman Morrissey is insufferable.
15:17He has always been a prickly character for his narcissistic, outrageous and sometimes confrontational
15:28appearance in the media. While this was traditionally a part of his left-wing activism, he may be more
15:34infamous now for supporting British nationalism. Morrissey is such a walking,
15:46talking, controversy machine that even though the Smiths broke up in 1987,
15:51their legacy is still blemished by the frontman's recent antics.
16:05Marilyn Manson. Marilyn Manson. Marilyn Manson was always a guy who wanted to push the limits of
16:12what is acceptable in music and live performance. In other words, he's a pretty edgy dude.
16:24But as much as the lead singer of his namesake band seemed to openly enjoy the controversy,
16:29when more than a dozen women came out and accused him of assaults, public opinion started to change.
16:35One of these women was actress and former fiance Evan Rachel Wood.
16:40Would you say that it's a fair assessment to say that he kind of came as advertised?
16:45No, I mean, I don't think the world would have put him on such a pedestal.
16:48Eventually, Manson was dealing with a host of allegations that included assaults, domestic violence,
16:54intimidation and even anti-Semitism. In the end, no charges were formally filed,
16:59but his reputation never fully recovered. Guns N' Roses. Axl Rose.
17:12There's no denying that Guns N' Roses are hard rock and heavy metal legends.
17:21But the fact remains that their lead singer Axl Rose could be a real pain to work with.
17:26Not only is he a legendary diva who routinely shows up incredibly late for shows,
17:32but he is also engaged in multiple feuds and written some pretty problematic lyrics.
17:42It's no surprise that Rose is the only constant member of the band since they started. Even GnR's
17:49biggest fans know that Axl is not the type of guy you'd want to invite over for dinner. But hey,
17:54at least the songs are good. Ike and Tina Turner. Ike Turner. Ike and Tina Turner were a legendary
18:05husband and wife musical duo that achieved a string of hits across multiple decades. They were often
18:10singled out as one of the best acts of their era.
18:20But behind the scenes, Turner was suffering serious emotional and physical abuse at the hands of Ike.
18:26Aggressive behavior, often fueled by substance use disorder, eventually led to a divorce in 1976.
18:33The revelations instantly changed the way that people looked at Ike and his old records. But
18:38thankfully, it turns out that Tina was a lot better off without his connections. She achieved
18:44one of the greatest career comebacks in music history in the 1980s with a huge run of solo hits.
18:51What's love got to do? It's got to do with it.
18:56The Sex Pistols. Sid Vicious. The Sex Pistols were marketed based on the raw chaos and disorder
19:03that surrounded them. But when Sid Vicious joined the band, things changed.
19:07Sure, the bassist was seen as a punk pioneer who had a huge hand in popularizing the genre. But when the
19:21band dissolved and his relationship with his girlfriend Nancy Spungen became unhinged,
19:26things got very dark. Vicious and Spungen's substance use and intense outbursts eventually
19:31led to Vicious fatally stabbing Spungen. Sid claimed to have no idea whether he killed Nancy or not.
19:37Nobody knows for sure what happened on that night, but Vicious would die of an overdose four months
19:43later. Listening to the Sex Pistols is near impossible without thinking of this tragic tale.
19:49Five Finger Death Punch. Ivan Moody.
20:04One of the most successful heavy metal bands of the 2010s, Five Finger Death Punch is tarnished by
20:11the controversial actions of frontman Ivan Moody. Moody was nearly fired from the band in the early
20:172010s, citing his alcohol use disorder and his subsequent erratic onstage behavior.
20:29This behavior often disappointed fans, like when he cut a concert in Worcester short by falsely claiming
20:35that his mother was dying. In reality, he was too inebriated to continue performing. Moody has also
20:42faced a number of personal and legal issues, like continuously abusing his ex-wife, assaulting a
20:48flight attendant, and receiving restraining orders from his own mother and sister.
20:52So I looked in the mirror and it was like Gollum. I was green and ugly and pale on it.
20:58Luckily, Moody is not currently using substances and attempting to fix the band's reputation.
21:04It just, it really came down to legacy, man. How did I want to be remembered? And how did I want my kids
21:10to go through the rest of their lives answering for me?
21:13Various. Johnny Craig. Some people are so contentious that they ruin every band they're in,
21:20or were in. That's the case with vocalist Johnny Craig.
21:30He has been the subject of many allegations and run-ins with the law. For example, he stole thousands
21:35of dollars by pretending to sell a used MacBook on Twitter in order to fund his substance abuse
21:41disorder. He was subsequently kicked out of Dance Gavin Dance and Emma Rosa.
21:52Craig's time in the band Slaves was also marred by controversy, as multiple women,
21:57including his ex-fiancee, have accused Craig of sexual assault. This led to the band being
22:02dropped from their record label. They changed their name to Rain City Drive after becoming the
22:07third band to fire Craig in Scandal.
22:10You think the moon will let you down, just the way.
22:15Gorgoroth, Gaul.
22:17This is hard, this is hard.
22:22Several Scandinavian black metal bands are represented on this list.
22:26Norwegian group Gorgoroth has faced a number of negative headlines throughout the years,
22:31with many stemming from former frontman Gaul.
22:35Church burnings and all these things are, of course, a thing that I support 100%.
22:42Real name Christian Espadar, Gaul has been to prison at least twice for assault.
22:47The first sentence was handed down in 2002 and the next in 2004. In the latter incident,
22:54Gaul reportedly kept his victim prisoner and abused him for lengthy periods of time,
22:58while collecting his blood in a cup. But Gaul claims it was just to prevent
23:02it from getting on his carpet. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
23:06Not long after, Gaul attempted to remove founding member Infernus from the group,
23:10but this only resulted in his own termination. Dissection
23:14Jan Nertveit We go from Norway to Sweden for Dissection,
23:19which was co-founded by Jan Nertveit in the late 80s.
23:22The band released two albums, but hit a major impasse in 1997, when Nertveit was sent to prison
23:32for murder. In the summer of that year, a gay Algerian man named Yosef Ben Madure was found
23:38dead in Gothenburg's Kehler's Park. The two perpetrators were Nertveit and another metal
23:43musician named Vlad, who supposedly killed the man owing to their homophobic beliefs.
23:48But when you go deeper into it, some people realize that this is gone way too far.
23:56Nertveit was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was released early in 2004.
24:01Dissection released one more album following his release, but split for good in 2006.
24:07Less than two months after their final show, Nertveit took his own life.
24:11Nertveit was enormously popular in their native Canada, scoring 9 top 10 hits. Part of the success
24:30is due to their music, while part of it stems from the popularity of frontman Jacob Hogar,
24:35who competed on Canadian Idol back in 2004. However, the band's career came to a startling
24:46end in 2018, when multiple members were accused of sexual misconduct. They admitted that they
24:52engaged in certain rock and roll cliches, but denied that they did anything illegal. Unfortunately, that
24:59wasn't the case with Hogar, who was personally charged with sexual assault and sentenced to five
25:04years in prison. In the midst of the controversy, Headley was fired by their management team and
25:10entered an indefinite hiatus. The judge also told the court that while 38-year-old Hogar is no longer
25:15a rock star, having lost his career as a singer with the band Headley as a result of these charges,
25:21she believes that Hogar still poses a risk in the future. Emperor, Faust. We return to Norwegian
25:27black metal for the story of Faust. Faust was heavily involved in the black metal scene,
25:36providing the lyrics for Zyklone and drumming for Emperor. Their debut album,
25:41In the Nightside Eclipse, was released in 1994 and is widely considered one of the most influential
25:47black metal albums in history. Unfortunately, Faust wasn't around to enjoy it.
25:52Yes, in Eitsivating Lagermanns Rett, a 19-year-old man who was guilty of an overdrive
25:58on Magne Andreasen in OL. Back in 1992,
26:01Faust killed a gay man named Magne Andreasen after being propositioned.
26:06He later confessed to the murder and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He served nine.
26:11The 19-year-old was also sentenced to 14 years in prison. He served nine.
26:13And while Emperor is still highly regarded within the black metal scene, Faust's time with the band
26:23is regarded as an unfortunate sore spot. The Mamas and the Papas, John Phillips. A major part of the
26:30late 60s counterculture, The Mamas and the Papas scored six top 10 singles, including the multi-platinum
26:36California Dreamin'. The band was led by John Phillips, who passed away in 2001 at the age of 65.
26:48But both his and the band's reputation took a major hit in 2009. That's when his daughter Mackenzie
26:55revealed that she and her father shared an inappropriate relationship throughout the 70s and 80s.
27:00You know, you tell yourself there's a video loop in your head of this event, this occurrence,
27:05this moment in time. And I have spent the last 31 years trying not to look at it.
27:11She also claims that Phillips injected her with various substances and may have even fathered a
27:16child with her. But she received an abortion before the child was born. Some people, including
27:21Phillips' ex-wives and Mackenzie's half-sister, deny the allegations. She said,
27:26My mother told me that this happened, Genevieve. And I said, yes, it did be. And this is something
27:32that you need to know because I'm not going to lie to you. She went, I would say hysterical.
27:37Others, including Phillips' bandmate, Denny Doherty, have corroborated the story.
27:42Mayhem. Varg Vikernes. Mayhem was hugely influential within the black metal scene,
27:48but infamous for their many gruesome scandals.
27:51The breaking point came after Varg Vikernes of the acclaimed solo project,
28:03Burzum, joined the band on bass. His volatile relationship with Euronymous,
28:08real name Eystein Orschett, ended with Vikernes murdering the guitarist during an altercation on
28:14August 10, 1993. One of the biggest scandals in black metal history temporarily broke up mayhem and
28:21landed the killer in prison until 2009. But that's not all.
28:36Vikernes also has a history of church arson and extremist ideology, even founding a neo-Nazi organization
28:43while in prison. Despite the cultural importance of his work with Burzum and mayhem, the already
28:48controversial music is further blackened by Vikernes' name.
28:52Sure, the truth is out there. I know some likes on X-Files, but the truth is of course to be found.
28:59But in a sea of lies, it's just impossible to find it.
29:03As I Lay Dying. Tim Lambesis. One of the essential metalcore bands, As I Lay Dying has been nominated for
29:10a Grammy, and their albums In Ocean Between Us and The Powerless Rise hit the top 10 on the Billboard 200.
29:22But their output slowed in the 2010s. And that's thanks to the actions of frontman Tim Lambesis.
29:28In May of 2013, Lambesis hired a hitman to kill his ex-wife Megan Murphy. Fortunately for his wife,
29:35this hitman was an undercover police officer, and Lambesis was arrested for soliciting murder.
29:41But this morning, the allegations are no laughing matter. The rocker who sang about his Christian
29:47faith could now face nine years in prison. He pled guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison,
29:53but he served only two and has since returned to the band.
29:56It's clear, I lost my flag!
30:01Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
30:05about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos, or all of them.
30:10If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
30:17Lost Prophets
30:18Ian Watkins
30:20Lost Prophets was on an upward trajectory until frontman Ian Watkins ruined it all.
30:26The band saw great success in the 2000s, scoring two UK top 10s and selling over 3 million albums.
30:40And then, the horrible news broke.
30:43This investigation has uncovered the most shocking and harrowing.
30:47The world learned the disgusting truth about Watkins on December 19, 2012. And while the charges are
30:53way too awful to relay here, they were enough to send him away for almost three decades.
30:59The band released a statement distancing themselves from Watkins, and they officially disbanded in October 2013.
31:12As for Watkins, he pled guilty and was given 29 years in prison, with the judge claiming that his story
31:18plunge into new depths of depravity. But what band springs to your mind when it
31:23comes to having disgraced members? Let us know in the comments below.
Recommended
10:26
|
Up next
15:05
1:33:30
10:53
0:41
11:13
12:33
10:57
23:05
13:06
12:28
13:19
13:38
12:53
13:07
19:26
11:40
13:04
11:45
11:36
18:59
19:23
Be the first to comment