10 Bands That Broke Up For Bizarre Reasons
2. Rage Against The Machine
It may seem hard to believe now, but rock bands once held the MTV Awards in fantastically high acclaim, seeing it as a status-consolidating event that confirmed their place at the top of the music industry. The star-studded nomination list for the ‘Best Rock Video’ category for 2000 included Creed, Kid Rock, Metallica, Korn, Limp Bizkit, and hot favourites to win, Rage Against the Machine.
Everyone knew there would be fireworks, but RATM’s Tom Commerford surpassed all expectations with his infamous antics. When Limp Bizkit surprisingly won the award for their self-directed ‘Break Stuff’ video, Commerford hijacked the stage and climbed the towering structure behind the award podium. A dozen or so stagehands scrambled into view to talk Commerford down, who lurked over Limp Bizkit’s acceptance speech like a gargoyle. Fred Durst probably didn’t help the situation by jokingly telling Commerford to jump, before quickly adding “this guy is rock 'n' roll, he should be winning the award”.
Commerford was arrested and earned himself a night in jail for his actions. Humiliated by Commerford’s antics, vocalist Zach de la Rocha left the band and Rage Against the Machine disbanded later that year. Although the MTV Awards weren’t the direct cause of the band breaking up, it appears Commerford’s protest was the snowflake that started an avalanche. To this day, Commerford maintains that Limp Bizkit are “one of the dumbest bands in the history of music”.