Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Men and their fragile egos

58 replies

AStepAtaTime · 24/06/2024 12:38

Foo Fighters and Taylor Swift have been playing in London this weekend, with Dave Grohl taking an obvious swipe at TS in his set, by nicknaming his gigs "the errors tour," and that errors occur in his set because his band "actually play live."

Dave Grohl is worth $330 million. He could buy the moon if he wanted. He never needs to worry about money. But what he clearly does worry about is being trumped at the superstar status polls by the sheer footfall of people attending Taylor's gigs and the outpouring of love and happiness her concerts provoke. I am not a Swifty, I don't listen to her songs but it's evident to me that she has more to offer to the crowd that simply her music. Her concerts are full of kids, and adults of all ages. There's no viciousness or unpleasant rhetoric. She advocates empathy and engagement, and connectivity between people. That to me, appears to be her superpower. People like the feeling she evokes in them.

Dave Grohl on the other hand, is a superbly talented musician with a career spanning nearly 3 decades in the spotlight. He has the ability to create and play excellent music. He has no need to feel threatened by another performer. And yet his nasty comments about TS show that he does, in fact have a need to publicly put her down.

I would argue that DG is the musically superior of the two. His comments are odd and somehow petty given that he's mega-rich and extremely talented. So what else could have motivated him to say this? It must be that his ego is fragile and is under threat. A man who could have anything he wants and is at the top of his artistic game and yet............his ego is hurt by a successful, creative woman.

Do you think he would have taken this cheap shot at a fellow performer if that fellow performer was another man? I don't think he would.

It's so unattractive and infantile for someone of his standing to bitch about a woman on stage in this way. He could play his gig, enjoy doing his thing and try and be an adult. But no. He had to get that pot shot in there. He could use his status for good, rather than simply pander to his mammoth ego but obviously he's not mature enough.

Will men ever grow the fuck up?

OP posts:
OneTC · 24/06/2024 15:09

Rock person takes pop at pop person, well I never, what ever will they think of next

hollywoodlife.com/2017/09/21/foo-fighters-diss-justin-bieber-canceling-purpose-tour-dave-grohl/

Goldenbear · 24/06/2024 15:11

Mrsjayy · 24/06/2024 14:51

Well I think wrapping it up as "banter" is the one of worst kinds. I mean you are allowed to disagree with me ill just get back to my charmed life .

Is he really old enough to be her Dad? Isn’t she 34, she’s not that young.

The ticket prices are ridiculous seem a bit greedy really but no he probably shouldn’t have said that.

Goldenbear · 24/06/2024 15:13

Goldenbear · 24/06/2024 15:11

Is he really old enough to be her Dad? Isn’t she 34, she’s not that young.

The ticket prices are ridiculous seem a bit greedy really but no he probably shouldn’t have said that.

Yes, I suppose he is if he was a Father at 21 although that seems very unusual these days!

SeriaMau · 24/06/2024 15:25

You are basing your opinion on half the human race on what one super-rich musician said? That is batshit crazy even by MN standards.

wordler · 24/06/2024 15:29

Well I guess he’s forgotten that she bailed him out of an embarrassing moment when he was too high to play a song at Paul McCartney’s house party.

StonwEd · 24/06/2024 15:49

It’s weird looking at the video now, I think the one doing the rounds is missing a bit. I was there and it didn’t feel like he was having a dig and it seems really out of character for him as well!
There’s got to be more to it, perhaps there is some truth to do with his daughter - who is a LOT younger than TS

Blackcats7 · 24/06/2024 15:58

SummaLuvin · 24/06/2024 14:34

misogyny can be overt and covert. For me the misogyny is covert here, it's wrapped in the idea that women's interests and tastes are less than. The reason he felt so safe making this sort of comment and didn't expect push back is the idea that Taylor is a silly shallow woman, making silly shallow music, to be consumed by other silly shallow women - and he is above that and better than that and thought his (largely male) audience would be complicit in trying to take her down a peg. He might have made those comments about men, but I think it would have been in a way where he was actually intentionally starting major beef, not being snarky in throw away comments for a cheap round of applause. I also think the very reason he made the comment was sexist at it's core - how can crappy poppy Taylor Fecking Swift be selling out stadiums when I am not - it hurt his ego to be bested by a fellow musician, a woman, in the same city on the same night.

Rather like the demeaning intention behind the term “chick lit”. Marian Keyes faced a lot of this when in fact her novels dealt with subjects like addiction and domestic violence but because a woman wrote them and the main characters were women her work was dismissed by male authors (clearly jealous of Keyes enormous selling power) as fluff for us simple girlies.

Kittea · 24/06/2024 15:59

Begsthequestion · 24/06/2024 14:57

Is it not a joke about Swift releasing the same album many times, but changing a single track, so she can get her fans to spend all much as possible without her having to produce new material? And re-recording her old albums again, to cash in twice for the same songs?

She re recorded the songs because the company who owned the masters wouldn't sell her the rights TO HER OWN SONGS.

Now she has full ownership of them.

Tell us how you really feel about her...

BabySnarkDoDoo · 24/06/2024 16:13

I'm not sure it's that deep. I'm not a big FF fan but did go to one of their gigs in the early 00s. DG came across as being extremely arrogant - got annoyed with the crowd for singing along and was making snide comments about the support act (forget who it was but was some lesser known all male rock band of the time).

Fairyliz · 24/06/2024 16:27

Dave who? Never heard of him.
On the other hand you can’t escape from articles about Taylor Swift.
Think jealousy has raised its ugly head.

Michelle12A · 24/06/2024 16:49

Attack Dave not every other man on this planet…

plenty of men aren’t jealous people

PostItInABook · 24/06/2024 17:05

There are at least 20 other famous people that use private jets who have a bigger CO2 emission total than TS, yet she seems to be the only one that ever gets targeted so relentlessly for it.

KidneyWarrior · 24/06/2024 17:24

I think he was a bit dismissive of her achievements. I was at his gig and he called her a little girl.I don't think it was massively serious, just a bit of a shame to pull someone down. And the crowd did boo her so yeah, it was a bit negative. Shame.

Mrsjayy · 24/06/2024 17:29

KidneyWarrior · 24/06/2024 17:24

I think he was a bit dismissive of her achievements. I was at his gig and he called her a little girl.I don't think it was massively serious, just a bit of a shame to pull someone down. And the crowd did boo her so yeah, it was a bit negative. Shame.

Edited

It is a shame he didn't need to say it.

FrippEnos · 24/06/2024 17:29

YABU for having an issue with one man and saying all men.

beguilingeyes · 24/06/2024 17:33

Things that women create/care about are often dismissed as lesser by men, who invariably make up the bulk of critics.
My favourite singer had seven top 40 albums in the early albums in the early 80s and yet most reviews focused almost entirely on her appearance, not in a flattering way at all.

SuePreemly · 24/06/2024 17:36

It's Dave Grohl.

He's just larking about on stage, means none of it seriously.....and took his daughters to the tour in the USA.

Lots of pearl clutching going on. It's a joke which went over a lot of people's heads, it seems.

Newgirls · 24/06/2024 17:58

He didn’t need to say anything. 💯 precious ego moment. She makes him feel old or he wanted some of her attention.

Blouson · 24/06/2024 18:01

Dave Grohl is a thoroughly good bloke. Theres more hate in this thread than his joke about Swifty! What a pathetic, tenuous way to have a man bash.

TinySmol · 24/06/2024 18:05

I do not believe that Taylor Swift sings live at her concerts.

JandLandG · 24/06/2024 18:11

TinySmol · 24/06/2024 18:05

I do not believe that Taylor Swift sings live at her concerts.

Well, you're wrong.

What Grohl was referring to was the use of some backing music tracks at live gigs, I would have thought.

As I understand it, TS does have a live band and live backing singers, and ofc sings live herself.

But many bands - even rockier bands - play with backing tracks these days. Or so I'm reliably informed by my gig going children who know about these things.

Grohl was just having a little mess about and I can't believe I've spent so much time thinking about this thread this afternoon!

It's only cos my kids went to see TS in Liverpool recently.

She's better than him and will no doubt have an amusing comeback next time she plays.

ALunchbox · 24/06/2024 18:18

Well I don't know who DG is but assuming he is right and TS doesn't sing live, I think he has a point.

katebushh · 24/06/2024 18:24

Isn't Dave Grohl known as the nicest bloke in music?

How anyone can get so up in arms and offended over a silly innocent undamaging jibe I have absolutely no doubt was made in jest is staggering.

Get down off your high horses ffs.

katebushh · 24/06/2024 18:26

To add I can't stand the Foo's but Nirvana were seminal in my teens.

VillageLifeIsTricky · 24/06/2024 18:33

"So what else could have motivated him to say this?"

A joke, perhaps? I took it a different way, as though he was being self-depracating and taking the piss out of his band, as opposed to a sleight on TS.

He's always supported her previously. Plus, he didn't say anything that was untrue, it's facts, so I don't understand why everyone has their tits in a tangle over the truth.