Customs officials in Belarus have apparently mistaken the Red Hot Chili Peppers for fellow rock legends Metallica, leading to a hilarious incident in which the Chilis were made to autograph a bunch of Metallica merchandise.
Posting to Instagram today, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea explained the situation, telling fans, “We were called into customs officials office at an airport in Belarus and they asked us to sign a bunch of Metallica cd’s and photos.
“We tried to explain to them that we weren’t Metallica but they insisted that we sign anyway. They had the power. Well I did play ‘Fight Fire With [Fire]’ with Metallica once. I love Metallica anyways but I’m no Robert Trujillo.”
Flea’s photo, which you can see in full below, shows him signing a bunch of Metallica photos, albums and a DVD. We can’t understand why or how the Belarusian officials supposedly confused the Chili Peppers with Metallica, and Metallica don’t seem to understand it either. Here’s how their guitarist Kirk Hammett reacted to Flea’s post:
Ha !! https://t.co/9zjWJxsii3
— Kirk Hammett (@KirkHammett) July 10, 2016
Flea’s links with Metallica include the fact that he inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2009, and he has — as he said — performed Fight Fire With Fire with the band (below) in the past, so maybe that’s where the confusion was?
While the Red Hot Chili Peppers were supposedly being confused with Metallica in Belarus recently, their drummer Chad Smith also momentarily confused himself with a child, today sharing this pretty cute footage of himself dancing with a bunch of kids in a shopping centre:
Red Hot Chili Peppers released their eleventh studio album The Getaway in June, while Metallica’s next album will apparently arrive this October if we’re lucky. Maybe it’ll feature a Chili Peppers collab?
Catch Flea’s hilarious Instagram post from Belarus below, alongside footage of one of his Fight Fire With Fire performances with Metallica.
Watch: Metallica – ‘Fight Wire With Fire’ (With Flea, Los Angeles 2008)
