In a recent interview with Louder Sound, System Of A Down bassist Shavo Odadjian addressed long-standing rumors about an alleged altercation with Mastodon’s Brent Hinds.
“I never knocked out Brent Hinds. That’s something that Brent was told by I-don’t-know-who,” Odadjian stated. “What happened was, we were in Las Vegas, outside Mandalay Bay after the MTV Music Awards, and I was with my friend, [rapper] Reverend William Burk.”
“Brent Hinds comes out of a taxi, and he’s like, ‘Bro, I love you!’ He was inebriated and swinging his shirt. He kept coming up to hug me. He was very in-my-face,” he explained. “Brent fell and hit his head and got knocked out. I was five, six feet away.”
“They put me in cuffs and took me to jail, but I didn’t do anything,” Odadjian continued. “I said, ‘Check the f*cking cameras [at the front of Mandalay Bay]! I did nothing!’ Once they did, the police came and let me go. I was there for, like, four hours.”
The incident took place following the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas. Its implications proved more serious than initial reports suggested.
Exclaim revealed that William Hudson was involved in the altercation, not Reverend William Burk, as mentioned in Odadjian’s recent statement. Police documentation showed that Hinds struck Odadjian with his shirt before hitting Hudson in the face and chest.
The Mastodon guitarist suffered severe consequences from the incident. Blabbermouth reported that Hinds sustained a brain hemorrhage, a broken nose, and two black eyes. These injuries required immediate treatment at the University Medical Center.
Witnesses observed Odadjian’s attempts to calm the situation. He repeatedly told Hinds to ‘relax.’ The situation escalated despite these efforts, resulting in injuries and police intervention.
Hinds received intensive care at the University Medical Center. Medical staff expected him to achieve a full recovery from his injuries.
