Limp Bizkit was set to perform a concert in Estonia, but it was canceled. The reason, it seems, is over frontman Fred Durst’s previous support of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
First, some backstory, via The PRP: In 2012, Durst married Kseniya Beryazina, a Crimean-born Russian makeup artist. Due to his then-spouse’s heritage, the nu-metal vocalist began spending a lot of time on the Crimean Peninsula. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Durst also reportedly befriended some state officials at the time.
Fred Durst once referred to Putin as “a great guy”
During a 2015 Limp Bizkit concert, Durst reportedly held up a banner reading “Crimea = Russia.” This led Ukrainian officials to ban him for five years. Additionally, ERR News reported that Durst once called Putin “a great guy with clear moral principles and a nice person.”
Notably, Durst has not espoused much pro-Putin rhetoric since he divorced Beryazina in 2018. However, he reportedly made a statement in 2024 stating that he misses his Russian fans and would like to return to the country for a tour, according to Stereogum.
This brings us to the current situation. Limp Bizkit announced a Spring 2026 concert in Tallinn, Estonia, at the city’s Unibet Arena. Estonia is a former Soviet republic. In response, Estonian officials have reportedly come forward to say that Putin supporters are not welcome in their country as a show of solidarity with Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have been at war for more than a decade.
After Durst’s resurfaced comments came to light, promoters of the concert in Estonia announced that it had been canceled and blamed “circumstances beyond the organizer’s control.”
It appears that, technically, no one has explicitly said that Durst’s past pro-Putin comments are the direct cause of the concert cancellation, but the timing is certainly coincidental.
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