Nuno Bettencourt’s Comment Sparks Feud with Guns N’ Roses

Nuno Bettencourt stated a few days ago that Slash would “struggle” with playing Rihanna’s songs because of how difficult they are.

A disagreement between Bettencourt and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus on Instagram appears to have been started by this remark, and it may have even escalated into a fight.

Fortus shared a news headline quoting Bettencourt’s words about Slash and respectfully disagreed with him in the caption. He expressed his admiration for Bettencourt but believed that Slash could handle the songs without difficulty, based on his own experience touring with Rihanna and playing with Slash.

The Extreme guitarist then reshared his post, saying:

“Welp… I knew this was eventually coming. You can’t be blessed and be on multiple guitar magazine covers at a shocking 56 years old; get this much attention for your playing and new album as a rock guitarist without another guitarist stirring up some shit.”

Bettencourt further explained why he chose to reply to the GN’R member’s comments. He clarified that he wasn’t bothered about what the guitarist thought of him. Instead, he wanted to make sure that his words didn’t offend Slash and potentially harm their relationship.

Later, he mentioned to Fortus that throughout his 56 years of life, he had never personally heard him play any music. The only way he knew Fortus’ name was from Rihanna’s group and when he filled in as a temporary player for Guns N’ Roses.

He believed Fortus was probably good at playing, but he questioned why Fortus chose to share a headline that made it seem like he was speaking badly about Slash, who is a fellow musician. The former guitarist of Rihanna shared his thoughts about Slash, saying:

“As if I’d ever think Slash isn’t capable of playing any Rihanna song in his sleep. Let’s get something fucking straight. To me, Slash is one of the greatest rock guitarists of my generation and of all time. Period.”

During an interview with Planet Rock, Bettencourt clarified that his statement was not about doubting Slash’s ability to play Rihanna songs effortlessly. Instead, he meant to talk about the challenges that rock guitarists like himself and Slash face when switching to different music genres.

He acknowledged that Slash can indeed play those songs well, but for him, being a rock guitarist, it’s harder to adapt to genres like Reggae, R&B, Electronic Dance, Trap, and pop due to their distinct styles and guitar sounds.

Referring to what Fortus recently said, he admitted that his choice of words was not the best when he suggested that Slash would “struggle.” Bettencourt further explained:

“In mentioning Slash as an iconic Rock example, I meant, in general, a rock guitarist would find it not a struggle but feel like a fish out of water as a player. That’s all I meant. I’ve had nothing but respect and admiration for Guns N’ Roses and Slash. Apologies if I’ve unintentionally offended anyone.”