How Did Axl Rose React To Kurt Cobain’s Death

Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose has a long list of people with whom he had disputes and personal conflicts. Perhaps one of the most well-known musicians on the list is late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain. The two had their fair share of insults in front of thousands of their fans which gave birth to the infamous rivalry between their bands.

However, death can change it all and put other elements into perspective which is why Rose’s reaction to Cobain’s tragic death migth be surprising for many people. Former GNR publicist Bryn Bridenthal revealed her first-hand experience when she broke down the news for the musician, and we’re here today to break it down to you.

Axl Rose And Kurt Cobain Had A Feud

It all started when Axl Rose asked Nirvana to play at his birthday party as well as joining Guns N’ Roses on tour with Metallica. Surprisingly, he was rejected by Kurt Cobain for both of his offers. Since Rose’s intention was to discover their potential and somewhat help them out, rejection made things worse between the two before they even got the chance to build a friendship.

From that on, the heated feud started between two legendary frontmen. Rose insulted Cobain and his wife Courtney Love because of their heroin addiction. Furthermore, he stated that it would be their fault if their baby girl borns ‘deformed,’ thus, they should end up in prison.

The dispute almost got physical during the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, when Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love were just casually sitting with their baby and they saw Axl Rose walking by and asked him if he’ll be the godfather of their child.

While they first intended to make a joke, it got the worst of Rose who started a fight by shouting, insulting, and threatening the couple. Since their baby was with them, the fight didn’t escalate to a further extend but the Nirvana singer made a speech while receiving his award and made fun of Rose’s statements during his aggressive conversation.

Kurt Cobain’s Death Hurt Axl Rose

The GNR frontman didn’t make any official statements following the tragic death of Kurt Cobain on April 5, 1994, at the age of 27. Thanks to the band’s former records publicist Bryn Bridenthal, fans got the opportunity to know how Axl Rose actually reacted to Cobain’s passing.

In the 2011 book, ‘Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge,’ Bryn talked about being the first person to tell Axl that the Nirvana singer died. The publicist revealed that she was afraid Rose might hurt himself after the news since he was going through tough times. Despite the common belief, he had a lot of empathy for Cobain and cared for him, therefore, his death deeply affected the singer.

In the book, Bryn said:

“The first thing I did when I got back to my hotel room, was to call Axl because I was afraid of how the news might impact him. He was such an emotional roller coaster, I was afraid that Axl would hurt himself. He felt things really deep and felt a real connection there, even though there was no connection from the other side. I think he had a lot of empathy for Kurt. I was on the phone with Axl until about 3:00 in the morning.

Ultimately it was okay but I don’t remember that what was said because I’d had so many hours and hours of those kinds of conversations with him. One time, I got off the phone with him and my teeth were chattering and I felt like I was the aunt, was how was the energy inside my head. We were just talking on a level that wasn’t there and now, it was just pure energy and out-of-body experience, and he said that my body acts like it’s freezing or something. It was just so intense.”

It’s surprising to hear Axl Rose felt a genuine connection with Kurt Cobain at first glimpse. However, it’s not unexpected to find out that his heart was broken when he find out about the vocalist’s death. The reason behind this is that Rose is an emotional person under the angry rock star image he portrays quite often.