Bataclan Deny EODM’s Jesse Hughes’ ‘Insane’ Inside Job Claim
Eagles of Death Metal‘s Jesse Hughes recently made controversial remarks insinuating that the security staff at Paris’ Bataclan had prior knowledge that a terror attack was imminent and didn’t show up at the venue the day of the band’s concert on November 13th. In a new statement, the owners of the venue where 89 people were killed dismissed Hughes’ “insane” accusations of an inside job.
“Jesse Hughes spread some very grave and defamatory accusations against the Bataclan teams,” a rep for the venue said in a statement (via Variety). “A judicial investigation is undergoing. We wish to let justice proceed serenely. All the testimonies gathered to this day demonstrate the professionalism and courage of the security agents who were on the ground on November 13. Hundreds of people were saved thanks to (these agents’) intervention.”
Speaking to Fox Business Network’s Kennedy, Hughes said he had a feeling something was off at the venue when he arrived and a backstage security guard wouldn’t look at him. “I immediately went to the promoter and said, ‘Who’s that guy? I want to put another dude on,'” Hughes claimed. “And he goes, ‘Well some of the other guards aren’t here yet,’ and eventually I found out that six or so wouldn’t show up at all.”
However, Hughes refrained from airing his security guard theory earlier “out of respect for the police investigating,” but added of the absent security staff, “It seems rather obvious that they had a reason not to show up.” Eighty-nine people were killed in the terror attack on the Bataclan, including the band’s merch manager Nick Alexander.
Hughes’ latest statement comes after the Eagles of Death Metal singer slammed France’s strict gun control laws for contributing to the Paris terror attacks. “Did your French gun control stop a single person from dying at the Bataclan?” Hughes asked in an interview with French TV channel, iTélé. “If anyone can answer yes, I’d like to hear it, because I don’t think so. I think the only thing that stopped it was some of the bravest men that I’ve ever seen in my life charging head-first into the face of death with their firearms.”