Bloodhound Gang Banned From Russian Festival, Attacked in Airport After Jared Hasselhoff Stuffs Country's Flag Down His Pants

Member of the band told CNN that they were beaten up by Russians while trying to leave the country; Hasselhoff has apologized

By Natalie Finn Aug 05, 2013 11:40 PMTags
Jimmy Pop, Evil Jared Hasselhoff, Bloodhound GangNoel Vasquez/Getty Images

The Bloodhound Gang is band non grata in Russia after giving the country's flag the bad touch.

Or, more specifically, bassist "Evil" Jared Hasselhoff shoved a Russian flag down his pants, pulled it between his legs and out the back of his waistband and said, "Don't tell Putin," during the band's show in Odessa, Ukraine, last Wednesday.

Cue the cancellation of their appearance at the Kubana music festival over the weekend in Krasnodar Krai, in Southern Russia. 

"Talked to Krasnodar territory leadership. Bloodhound Gang packing suitcases. These idiots won't perform in Kubana," tweeted Vladimir Medinsky, Russia's minister of culture, after getting wind of what Hasselhoff had done onstage.

Despite some cheers and whoops from the Odessa crowd—and frontman Jimmy Pop immediately telling the audience that he didn't approve of Hasselhoff's move because "Russia is better than America"—the group's tour van was reportedly pelted with eggs and tomatoes after they crossed the border.

Moreover, an unidentified member of the band told CNN on Saturday that they were "beaten up" by a group of men while they were waiting to take off from the airport in Krasnodar Krai.

None of the guys were seriously injured and they flew out of Moscow yesterday without further incident.

But though Hasselhoff has since apologized, explaining that shoving things down his pants is part of his onstage shtick, his mea culpa doesn't appear to have assuaged the Russian government.

Per the U.K.-based Voice of Russia, an investigation has been opened as to whether the band violated Article 329 of the Russian Criminal Code prohibiting desecration of the National Emblem of the Russian Federation or the State Flag of the Russian Federation—an offense punishable by up to a year in prison.

"For such pranks they should be behind bars," tweeted Alexander Tkachyov, governor of Krasnodar. "And, by the way, let them use their apology as a wipe."  

And, according to Britain's Independent, they are also under investigation for possible hooliganism in Ukraine after Hasselhoff allegedly urinated on their country's flag during a show in Kiev. "Such actions involving the desecration of state symbols cannot be justified by shock value," a spokeswoman for Kiev's foreign ministry told the paper.

Three members of punk-rock group Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison in Russia for hooliganism, though one has since been released on probation after successfully appealing.