American rock group Bloodhound Gang has been barred from a music festival in Russia, the Russian culture minister said, after a band member shoved the country’s flag into his underpants during a gig. The incident took place when the band, famous for its sexually explicit songs and on-stage antics, played a concert in Ukraine. On a video, posted on YouTube, bassist Jared Hasselhoff is seen pushing the Russian white-blue-red tricolour into the front of his pants and then pulling it out of the back.“Don’t tell Putin!” he said to the applause of the audience in the city of Odessa on Wednesday.
Moscow reacted angrily, barring the band from performing at a festival in the Krasnodar Black Sea region, also known as Kuban. The event, held on August 1-7, is expected to feature bands including The Prodigy, Guano Apes and Scooter. The incident happened against the background of a deepening rift between Russia and the US.