Baltic Live Agency has pulled the plug on Limp Bizkit’s planned Estonia show after Fred Durst’s past support for Russia sparked concern.
ERR News reports the promoter cancelled the May 31, 2026 performance at Tallinn’s Unibet Arena just days after announcing it. Scheduled to go on sale this morning, November 17, tickets never reached the market.
“We inform you that due to circumstances beyond the organizer’s control, the Limp Bizkit concert planned for May 31, 2026, is canceled,” the agency stated on the event’s Facebook page.
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Durst’s Russia Remarks Return To Spotlight
Between 2014 and 2015, Durst made controversial statements about Russia while married to Crimean-born makeup artist Kseniya Beryazina. During a 2015 performance, he held up a banner that read “Crimea = Russia,” a reference to the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine. In letters to Crimean authorities, he described Putin as “a great guy with clear moral principles and a nice person.”
He also detailed his interest in obtaining Russian citizenship and buying property in Crimea, and claimed Western media misrepresented Russia. After these remarks, Ukraine banned him from the country for five years.
After his 2018 divorce from Beryazina, Durst’s public comments about Russia largely stopped. But in 2024, he posted on Russian social platform VKontakte that he missed his fans there, which prompted renewed scrutiny when the Estonia concert was announced.
Estonia Takes Firm Stand Against Performance
Opposition came immediately after the November 7 announcement. Media adviser Brita Kikkas told ERR News: “There is no place in Estonia for a supporter of an aggressor state. Estonia supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the principle that every last centimeter of Ukrainian territory belongs to Ukraine.”
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna echoed this stance: “Russia is the aggressor, and Crimea is occupied by Russia. Those who justify Russia’s aggression are not welcome in Estonia. They have no place on Estonian stages.”
Divided Fan Response Online
On r/BalticStates, immediate controversy erupted as reactions split along political lines. Some users backed Estonia’s decision, with one stating: “We cannot let supporters of terrorist states be in our country.” Others argued decade-old comments made during a brief marriage shouldn’t affect bookings, and pointed out that band member DJ Lethal was born in Latvia but emigrated at age four.
Estonian Facebook groups and forums mirrored these divisions between disappointed fans and those supporting the government’s stance.
Difficult Timing For Band After Bassist’s Death
Founding bassist Sam Rivers, who had battled degenerative disc disease and undergone a liver transplant, died on October 18 at age 48. Durst posted a tribute, describing Rivers as “a legend, truly” and “such a gifted, unbelievably sweet and wonderful person.”
After leaving in 2015 due to health issues, Rivers eventually returned to the band. In 2020, the group toured the Baltic region with performances in both Lithuania and Latvia. Promoters at that time acknowledged Durst’s controversial past but noted he hadn’t repeated similar statements since 2015. Limp Bizkit’s management has not issued a statement about the Estonian cancellation.
Estonia’s Strong Anti-Russia Position
Estonia shares a direct border with Russia and achieved independence from Soviet control in 1991. Estonia’s Parliament declared Russia a terrorist regime in October 2022 after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which called Putin’s regime “the biggest danger to peace both in Europe and in the whole world.”
