DISTURBED frontman David Draiman has responded publicly after footage emerged of him being booed during his performance at the “Back To The Beginning” farewell concert for BLACK SABBATH and Ozzy Osbourne, which took place on July 5th at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Draiman, who joined a supergroup of metal veterans to perform Ozzy’s “Shot In The Dark” and SABBATH’s “Sweet Leaf,” was met with jeers and middle fingers from parts of the 42,000-strong crowd as he walked on stage—a reaction widely believed to stem from his outspoken political views, particularly his vocal support for Israel.
Now, Draiman has addressed the backlash in a series of unfiltered posts on X (formerly Twitter), dismissing the negativity and standing firm in his convictions.
“I will ALWAYS stand up for my people, and I won’t be deterred, intimidated, or shamed out of rocking the a**es of the masses,” Draiman wrote. “Put that in your pipes and smoke it.”
In another post, Draiman pointed to what he claims is media manipulation of the event: “There’s even a track being passed around out there that added enhanced booing to the performance just to add fuel to the fire. Pathetic. The live stream shows the truth. Both songs went over great.”
He also acknowledged the boos but dismissed them as driven by antisemitism: “Yes, there were a few boos when I walked out, but I came to pay homage to my teachers, my idols, the mighty BLACK SABBATH, and I wasn’t about to let a few Jew hating morons deter that. It’s all about feeding their narrative, generating clickbait, and inciting hatred of Jews.”
Background
Draiman’s appearance was part of a rotating tribute lineup curated by Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE) and featured an all-star backing band including Jake E. Lee, Mike Bordin, and Adam Wakeman, with additional appearances from Scott Ian (ANTHRAX), Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME), and David Ellefson (ex-MEGADETH).
Local reports from Birmingham Live described Draiman’s entrance as being met with “huge boos,” attributing the crowd’s reaction to controversy over his political activity. In 2024, Draiman visited Israel and posed with IDF soldiers, even autographing an artillery shell aimed at Hamas—a move that drew heavy backlash online amid the ongoing Israel–Gaza war.
Despite the initial reaction, many attendees reportedly clapped along once the performance began, and Draiman delivered powerful renditions of both tracks without incident.
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