Limp Bizkit will not head to Estonia next year, with the band’s show in the Baltic capital of Tallinn canceled after Fred Durst’s old pro-Russia comments resurfaced online.
The band was set to play the Unibet Arena in Tallinn on May 31, 2026, but the event’s Facebook page has since been changed to “Canceled.” According to Estonia’s public broadcaster, ERR, the gig was first postponed, with hopes of finding a new date, before pre-sale tickets were made available on Monday.
But eventually, the show’s promoter, Baltic Live Agency, chose to cancel the gig outright. “We inform you that due to circumstances beyond the organizer’s control, the Limp Bizkit concert planned for May 31, 2026, is canceled,” they said in a statement. “Our apologies!”
Reps for Baltic Live Agency and Limp Bizkit did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s requests for comment.
Almost immediately after the Tallinn show was announced on Nov. 7, there was swift backlash over Durst’s history of pro-Russia stances. For instance, in 2015, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Durst spoke about his desire to obtain a Russian passport, wrote a letter to Crimean authorities calling Vladimir Putin a “great guy with clear moral principles,” and held up a sign on stage that read “Crimea=Russia.”
At the time, Durst was married to Kseniya Beryazina, a Russian make-up artist from Crimea. (They divorced in 2019.) Durst’s comments also resulted in Limp Bizkit being banned from Ukraine for five years.
In response to Limp Bizkit’s Tallinn show, Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Margus Tsahkna, said: “My position is clear, and I will repeat it: Russia is the aggressor, and Crimea is occupied by Russia. Those who justify Russia’s aggression and the occupation of a neighboring country are not welcome in Estonia. They have no place on Estonian stages and should not be earning income here.”
The Ministry of Culture also reportedly contacted concert organizers, with a spokesperson saying, “It is unacceptable for people to perform in Estonia who support a state whose president is the subject of an international arrest warrant.”
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At the time Baltic Live Agency, tried to minimize the fallout, with its media director, Gunnar Viese, telling ERR, “The only way we can explain it is that at the time [until 2019], Fred Durst was married to a Russian Crimean woman and evidently living in a distorted information bubble.”
In explaining why Baltic Live Agency booked the band, Viese cited Limp Bizkit’s recent history of concerts in countries that back Estonia and Ukraine over Russia, such as Germany, Austria, and Poland. He also noted that Durst has not made any overtly political statements about Russia, or the war in Ukraine. While Durst did tell Russian fans he hoped to see them soon on social media in 2024, those comments were seen as standard communication between artist and fan.
