On this day in 2015, the Foo Fighters fought back against the Westboro Baptist Church by Rickrolling the controversial group.
Back in September of 2011, the controversial Westboro Baptist Church called for a protest of the Foo Fighters’ performance in Kansas City. To fight back, the group decided to dress up as stereotypical rednecks and performed a free gig on the back of a flatbed truck. Needless to say, it confused protesters, and made eager fans exceptionally excited.
Four years later, the Foo Fighters once again found themselves in Kansas City where they were, once again, met with protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church.
This time, the group decided to got something a bit more simple, choosing to drown out the sound of the protesters and overshadow them by sitting in the back of a ute while Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ was blasted from the speakers.
The incident, which also saw drummer Taylor Hawkins holding up a sign that read ‘You Got Rick Roll’d (Again)’, drew the attention of countless fans once more, and made the protests from the Westboro Baptist Church seem a little bit inconsequential compared to the band’s antics.
Interestingly, the Foo Fighters would end up having an odd with Rick Astley in the following years. While 2016 saw Astley cover the Foo Fighters’ ‘Everlong’, the band would welcome Astley onstage for a cover of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ in 2017, with Dave Grohl referring to him as “the seventh Foo Fighter” soon after.
For more footage of the incident, be sure to head along to this link.
Check out the Foo Fighters Rickrolling the Westboro Baptist Church:
