Rob Halford Comments on Phonegate

The metal world was rocked yesterday — in a bad way — by recent footage of Rob Halford kicking a phone out of someone’s hand in the middle of a Judas Priest concert. The singer, age 67, was previously considered something of a saint amongst metal fans, who took the social to express their disbelief. “I can’t believe Halford would pull a Geoff Tate!” cried one fan, while another added, “Who does [Halford] think he is, Corey frickin’ Taylor?” Reports that Halford had become upset because the phone’s owner was shining a light in the frontman’s eyes did little quell fan outrage.

Now, in a lengthy statement to Loudwire, Halford has gone into detail regarding the cause of his momentary lapse in judgment:

“The facts are we love our fans and you can film us all you like and watch our show on your phone rather than in the flesh. However if you physically interfere with The Metal God’s performance you now know what will happen.”

Wow. A lot to digest there. Where to begin? Halford is clearly feeling conflicted about what he did; his remorse is palpable in every single one of his statement’s forty-three words. And he makes some solid points about the social contract between performers and audience members. I’m not completely sold on his assertions about the nature of modern technology, but they’re certainly very well thought out. Personally, I’m inclined to forgive Rob and forget this whole thing ever happened.

Dissect Halford’s statement in the comments section below.