In a recent interview with Classic Rock, Kip Winger disclosed that the Metallica frontman James Hetfield reached out to him over the phone, expressing regret.
In the music video for Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ there is a scene where Lars Ulrich throws darts at a poster featuring Kip. Referring to that, the host asked the musician if Hetfield apologized to him for his role in Winger’s downfall, to which he replied:
“James called me about a year and a half ago, and he was very sincere. I’m paraphrasing, but he said: ‘We were dumb kids back then, and I’m sorry if we hurt your career.’ He’s texted a couple of times since. In another life, maybe we could have been good friends.”
While the ‘Master of Puppets’ singer expressed remorse for the music video, Winger didn’t receive a call from Ulrich. He said in an appearance on Appetite for Distortion a few months ago:
“I don’t think Lars would ever call me to apologize. I think everybody was just young kids, and they were thinking it was funny. To me, it’s not funny to slag off a fellow musician. But who knows? They were just doing what they were doing. I don’t know. I can’t answer that.”
Metallica’s video was not the only factor that contributed to Winger’s decline as a band. MTV’s cartoon duo Beavis & Butt-head also mocked the act at the time. The nerdy character, Stewart, frequently wore a Winger t-shirt, while the main characters displayed AC/DC and Metallica t-shirts. Other than those, the rise of grunge in the early 1990s hurt the band’s career, too.
