The music industry often feels like a pool of people trying to one-up each other. Well, we can’t deny that the pool is full of artists who are only interested in their careers, but some genuinely want to help others get started in the industry. One of those people was the Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, who didn’t have a reason to get out of his way to discover new artists; however, he did everything he could for Puddle of Mudd. What did he get in return? Let’s find out.
Fred Durst and Puddle of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin built a pretty close friendship from the get-go. However, after the two became close friends, the honeymoon phase didn’t last for long. Once fame gets to your head, there’s no turning back for most, even if the success has come with the help of a person who opened doors for new opportunities in the industry.
Durst helped the band get off the ground, encouraged them to make connections in the industry, and even released their debut ‘Come Clean’ under his record company, Flawless Records. Even though, as the owner of the band’s record label, Fred would benefit from their success, since their debut album ended up being a massive chart-topper, he wanted to help his friend first and foremost as he saw their potential.
After living a life of fame and fortune for three years, Wes Scantlin gave an interview to Canada’s Chart magazine in 2004, and well, let’s just say he didn’t sound like a thankful frontman who was living the dream. The musician talked about Durst and said, “He doesn’t write our songs, he doesn’t produce our songs, he doesn’t do anything for us. He doesn’t do our videos anymore. He doesn’t do anything for this band. I don’t know what he’s doing; I don’t know what the guy’s like. All I know is that he’s like Mr. Hollywood guy, Mr. Celebrity. Like, ‘I don’t hang out with anybody except Hollywood celebrities.’”
He added, “Every single f*cking interview I’ve ever f*cking done, I get asked about that f*cking guy, and for me to always do interviews and be asked about this certain individual. People think he writes music with me or something. He does not do that. I just don’t get it. We have nothing in common. He doesn’t even call us; he has his assistant call us to congratulate us on our record. Yeah, that’s how pathetic he is.”
Apparently, Scantlin was frustrated that in every interview, they would only ask about Fred Durst’s contribution to the band’s lyrics and their relationship that helped them achieve this much success early on. The singer took a dig at the Limp Bizkit icon, and most people believed he was ungrateful for everything Durst had done.
Four years after his first remarks about Fred Durst, Scantlin took back everything he said in an interview with Artisan News Service. He said, “Fred got our foot in the door and helped us out tremendously. Nowadays, he’s doing a lot of directing, and we don’t speak to him too much, but we appreciate everything he has ever done for our careers.”
So it sounded like Wes Scantlin felt their previous disputes were resolved as he took back his words. However, would Durst let bygones be bygones despite everything Scantlin had previously said about him just because he retracted his harsh words and thanked him for everything he had done for the band? Well, that must be the case, as Limp Bizkit and Puddle of Mudd played together on Epicenter 2011 and proved that friendships can flourish even in a competitive industry.
