Testament Guitarist Questions Whether Kanye West Is Trve Kvlt

Miikka Skaffari/Getty

Testament Guitarist Questions Whether Kanye West Is Trve Kvlt

Miikka Skaffari/Getty

Fashion-conscious celebrities have been really into vintage metal band tees lately. Kanye West was photographed wearing a Testament T-shirt over the weekend, and Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick was quick to call him out for not being a real metal fan, jumping onto Facebook to criticize celebs who wear metal shirts solely for fashion.

“Oh no he didn’t! Wait, yes he did,” Skolnick wrote in his initial comment. “Goodness gracious. This whole decrepit clan must have picked up a pile of old concert t-shirts (the same pile Kourtney K’s Slayer shirt came from) which have somehow become a ‘thing’ in trendy fashion (who’d have thought?!!). Inconcevable that any of these pop culture vultures know who the heck any of the bands are. My guess is he thinks it’s a religious group (not the 1st time that’s happened) That is, if he thinks at all, which lately, seems unlikely. And I thought this time period couldn’t get any weirder…”

After the story was picked up by the media, Skolnick returned to Facebook to issue a longer, more official statement on the matter:

Alright. So I posted a wiseass comment meant just for friends who tagged me on FB – wasn’t meant as an official statement but now it got picked up and is making news. Had I been asked to comment publicly I’d probably say something more like this:

I like hip-hop generally and while not a Kanye West fan, I recognize that Kanye is respected by some folks in the music industry whom I respect. Normally I’d be flattered and appreciative from 1 artist 2 another (those who follow me outside Testament know I’m very open musically & work with artists of many genres). If Kanye genuinely knows and likes Testament – and isn’t just wearing our shirt as part of this current bizarre fad among trendy fashionistas and Hollywood types to wear old metal concert Ts – then that’s great, more power to him and respect. However, I truly doubt that’s the case (and would love to be proven wrong).

It’s not the music/artist part of the equation I have a problem with – it is the Reality TV, publicity junkie part. Kanye may consider himself an artist, which I can accept (although an artist on the level of those he compares himself to? Pablo Picasso? Sorry, not feeling it). Artistry aside, the Kardashian clan (of which he’s a part of by marriage) are not doing art – it is the lowest form of cheap entertainment, turning people into brainless nincompoops and slowly destroying the country, a place that’s descended to the point of the majority now embracing anti-intellectualism, denying facts, disbelieving science, believing fake news, avoiding rationality, shunning critical thinking and no longer recognizing the difference between reality and reality TV (case in point: electing a Reality TV star as President, someone Kanye is now cozying up to). I find these offenses so unforgivable that I cannot find enjoyment in a major celebrity and artist I’d otherwise respect (musically, at least) wearing our shirt, much as I’d like to.

So my initial response, while admittedly less eloquent, it is still an honest reflection of the moment.

In other Kanye news, TMZ reports that multiple staff members at UCLA Medical Center, where Kanye was hospitalized for over a week, are being fired for attempting to access his confidential medical records. The investigation is still ongoing.

more from News