Ghost Frontman Was Pissed Fans Were Forced to Remove Their Makeup Prior to a Show
Ghost mastermind and frontman Tobias Forge, aka Papa Emeritus, admitted in a recent interview that he was super pissed about fans having to take off their Ghost makeup before the band’s August 11 show at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, Forge spilled the tea and explained how the situation made him feel “furious” that security personnel forced fans to remove their facepaint before entering the venue.
“The story that I heard was that it was an initiative taken by some of the security people, who didn’t approve of the band. They didn’t like what we were doing, so they wanted to be mean to these kids, and those kids were really, really upset with that. They told them it was a band requirement. That was upsetting to me. We would never ask that of our fans. We want them to dress up; we want them to come and have fun.”
Apparently the venue posted a statement ahead of the show that warned that “face paint or masks covering the face are NOT allowed while entering the venue or purchasing items at concessions. Any face coverings must be removable upon request.”
Regardless of whether that’s a venue policy or not, that’s a pretty lame fucking thing to happen at a Ghost concert, of all things. I mean, we’re talking about a band that looks the way they do and encourages their fans to go all out as well. That’s almost like forcing people to take off their battle vests before seeing a thrash show or something.
Following the incident, the band posted a statement condemning the actions of the security personnel in question and stating that they would “ALWAYS encourage creative expression” by their fans. Forge also went into why he feels Ghost and their shows offer sanctuary to their fans and concertgoers.
“Over the years, I’ve come to understand that a lot of our fanbase are, in one way or another, outsiders or that their lives are lonely or they’re struggling with something. It feels like there’s a lot of hurt among our fanbase, and I want to address that. They’ve found a kind of belonging being in this group of Ghost fans.”
Ghost might not always take themselves too seriously like other major acts out there, but you can’t say they don’t want their fans to join in on the fun. As for what the band’s got going right now, we’re not too sure, as it seems like Papa Emeritus IV is done despite not meeting a grizzly fate like his predecessors. The band’s got a movie thing and a live album in the works, so maybe we’ll learn more about what’s next once that comes out.
