As someone who makes a living on the internet, I’ll be the first to admit that the whole thing was probably a mistake — especially social media. It’s too easy for people to share their own dumb ass opinions for the rest of the world to roll their eyes at and it makes it way too easy to take advantage of countless suckers.
When it comes to scams and the people that fall for ’em, it seems enough Metallica fans are getting caught up in a scheme involving a fake James Hetfield that the real ‘deal ‘Papa Het’ has had to release a statement via official channels.
PAPA HET WOULD LOVE YOU TO READ THIS
There are people online that have assumed my identity, spreading misinformation, and have caused damage to other people.
There are imposters and predators out there. This is out of my control, but it is in your control who you choose to connect with. Please be careful on socials and vet people before getting in contact with them.
To be clear…. I am not on any social media forms, Facebook, Instagram, ETC.
The only connection I have with social media is through the official Metallica website and official Metallica socials.
If you are following or communicating with someone who you think is or is portraying themselves as me…
It’s not me.
I hope this helps those who have been or are getting deceived and are ashamed to talk about it.
With love and respect,
James ‘Papa Het’ Hetfield
There’s no official description about what these fake accounts could be doing, but it goes without saying that if you’ve been approached by someone claiming to be James Hetfield, the first thing you should probably ask yourself is: “why the hell would one of the biggest musicians in the world contact me randomly?” I mean really — in what world would he reach out to you? It’s not like he’s the guy that gives out tickets to fans for free, nor is he desperately hurting for friends. If it seems too good to be true, it really is.
In the event that you’ve been in contact with someone pretending to be James Hetfield, you should probably cut off all ties and report them now. And then when you’re done doing that, make sure to tell that Nigerian prince you’ve been chatting with all about it.