Fred Durst

At 53 years old, Fred Durst has this physical status:

William Frederick Durst (born August 20, 1970) is an American vocalist, actor and film director.

He is best known as the frontman of the rap rock band Limp Bizkit, formed in 1994, with whom he released six studio albums.

He started making money playing in several Jacksonville, Florida bands, mowing lawns and drawing tattoos. Since 2006, Durst has worked on independent films.

He costarred in Population 436, and made his directorial debut in 2007, with The Education of Charlie Banks.

He followed with The Longshots in 2008.

His latest film, The Fanatic, came out in 2019.

Early life

Durst was born Frederick Allen Mayne III in Jacksonville, Florida, but soon moved to Orlando and then a farm in Cherryville, North Carolina, at one year old. In the fifth grade, he moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where he would later graduate high school. At the age of 12, Durst took an interest in breakdancing, hip hop, punk rock, and heavy metal. He began to rap, skate, beatbox, and DJ. Leaving the Navy after two years (1988-1990), Durst moved back to Jacksonville with his father where he worked as a landscaper and a tattoo artist while developing an idea for a band that combined elements of rock and hip-hop.

Personal life

Durst has a daughter named Adriana Durst. She was born on June 3, 1990, to Durst and his then-wife Rachel Tergesen. He also has a son named Dallas (born August 30, 2001) with ex-girlfriend, actress Jennifer Thayer.

In 2007, Durst pled no-contest to seven misdemeanor charges, including battery, assault and reckless driving. According to court documents, Durst hit two Los Angeles residents with his car on October 25, 2006. He was given a 120-day suspended sentence, 20 hours community service and a $1,500 fine.

In 2009, Durst married Esther Nazarov and split after three months. Durst married his third wife, make-up artist Kseniya Beryazina, in 2012. They filed for divorce in September 2018 and finalized it in 2019. Durst married Arles Durst in 2022.

In 2015, Durst stated his interest in obtaining a Russian passport and spending half of the year in Crimea. He wrote a letter in which he stated that Vladimir Putin is "a great guy with clear moral principles and a nice person." Following that, Durst was banned by the Security Service of Ukraine from entering Ukraine for five years "in the interests of guaranteeing the security" of the country.

During the 2018 California wildfires, Durst's house burned down and he lost a majority of his possessions. His bandmate, Wes Borland, also lost several pieces of equipment in the fire. These were stored in Durst's house as they were scheduled to record the day after the fire.

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Career

Durst, a Malachi Sage bassist Sam Rivers, and Rivers' cousin John Otto jammed together in 1994 and wrote three songs. Wes Borland, a guitarist, later joined. Durst started the band Limp Bizkit because he wanted a name that would deter listeners. When the covers of George Michael's "Faith" and Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" were published, Limp Bizkit's "Straight Up" attracted curious concertgoers.

Durst invited Korn to his house later in the evening, after Korn appeared in town as the opening act for Sick of It All. Reginald Arvizu, the bassist, was able to convince bassist Reginald Arvizu to listen to demos of the songs "Pollution," "Counterfeit," and "Stalemate." Korn took a then-unsigned Limp Bizkit on two tours, giving the band a new audience. DJ Lethal, a member of House of Pain, joined the band as a turntablist; Durst's differences with Borland prompted him to quit and rejoin the band;

Limp Bizkit, a subsidiary of Interscope Records, signed Flip Records, a Interscope Records affiliate, in 1997, and the album, Three Dollar Bill, received a mixed reception. Durst first met Staind on October 23, 1997, but tensions between the two bands soon emerged over the band's cover art. Durst unsuccessfully tried to remove Staind from a concert bill right before their show, but after watching the band perform, he was so impressed that he signed them to Flip/Elektra, filmed a demo with the band, and co-produced their new album, Dysfunction.

After Limp Bizkit's tour with the band Deftones, Durst and DJ Lethal were invited by Max Cavalera, a member of the band Sepultura, to appear on "Bleed," a song from the band's self-titled debut. Ross Robinson, a producer, told Cavalera that he had recommended that he work with Durst. Durst appeared on Korn's album Follow the Leader. Jonathan Davis had intended to write a battle rap with B-Reality of Cypress Hill, but the latter's label wouldn't allow him to do so, and Durst was tapped instead. The lyrics for "All in the Family" by Davis and Durst, which featured the two vocalists trading insults were written by Davis and Durst. Davis and Durst would often have suggestions for each other's songs; Durst's lyric "tootin' on your bagpipe" was changed to "fagpipes" by Davis, who said, "I helped him bag on me better."

Durst began to take an interest in filmmaking, directing the music video for Limp Bizkit's debut in the film Very Bad Things; he was unsatisfied with it and made a second video that paid tribute to tour companions Primus, Deftones, and Mötley Crüe, who appeared in the film.

Limp Bizkit's album Significant Other (1999) and Chocolate Starfish (1999) and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000) were the hits on the radio. Durst was named Senior Vice President of A&R at Interscope in June 1999.

Limp Bizkit performed at the much-anticipated Woodstock '99 festival in front of about 200,000 people in the summer of 1999. Fans of the show "Break Stuff" were tarnished by violent conduct from the audience, much of which occurred during and after their appearance, with fans ripping plywood from the walls. Several sexual assaults were recorded in the aftermath of the concert. "People are getting hurt," Durst said at the festival. Don't let anyone hurt. But I don't believe you should mellow out. Alanis Morissette had you motherfuckers do, so here's how it was done. If someone slips, pick 'em up.' We've already let the negative energy out. Now we want to let the good vibes out." "I didn't see anyone being injured," Durst said in a tweeting interview. You wouldn't believe it. How can we imagine something bad going on when you're standing out on a sea of people and the stage is twenty feet in the air and you're performing, and you're feeling your music? "Woodstock was just Durst being Durst," Les Claypool told the San Francisco Examiner. He claims that the media is bad news, so he brings it on himself. He wallows in it. Despite this, he's a fantastic guy." "It's easy to point the finger and blame [us], but they've hired us for what we do — and all we do is what we do." In reference to Michael Lang, the original Woodstock co-founder, I would point the finger and point it back to the people who hired us," Durst said.

The tour of Limp Bizkit in June 2000 was sponsored by Napster, the notorious file sharing service. Durst was a vocal supporter of file sharing. Durst performed "Life It Up" with Christina Aguilera during the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. "Fred being onstage with Christina Aguilera elicited us all," Filter frontman Richard Patrick said in reaction to the performance. Durst reacted angrily to the performance's boos by saying, "People always want to talk about Britney or Christina."

What's the problem?

Because they make a form of music we aren't allowed to enjoy? Or you think they are the nemesis of what our music is about?

Why segregate?

Why be so musically fuckin' racist?

I can't hang out with these types of people, what does that mean? I didn't give a fuck, but a lot of it did. I mean, someone who isn't going to give in and apologise will continue to talk.

During a 2001 tour of Australia at the Big Day Out festival in Sydney, fans rushed the stage, and teen Jessica Michalik died of asphyxiation. Durst threw water over the head of a security service team tasked with defusing a similar situation in Auckland, New Zealand, on the same tour. Durst has been accused of taunting security guards who were intervening in the case during the Big Day Out crush. Durst, a long-time attorney, testified in court that he warned Aaron Jackson, Will Pearce, and Amar Tailor, as well as promoter Vivian Lees of the dangers of such minimal protection. After seeing video and witness testimony, the coroner said it was clear that the crowd was dangerous at the time when Limp Bizkit took the stage, and Durst should have behaved more responsibly as the issue became apparent. Durst said he was "emotionally worried" as a result of the teen's death.

Durst was hired to write songs for Britney Spears in 2002, but later said he was in a close friendship with her. Durst denied Durst's allegations. In a 2009 interview, he said, "I just guess at the time it was tabo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her." Durst's sex tape was released on the internet in February 2005. Durst also filed a $70 million lawsuit against ten websites that shared the video.

Durst was involved on a New Wave side-project alongside Limp Bizkit's Results May Vary album in May 2003. According to reports, the band, Pacifica, was "very early stages" and had a sound similar to Duran Duran and Soft Cell. News about the band came quickly, and no new ones have appeared.

Limp Bizkit was on the Summer Sanitarium Tour in July 2003, headlined by Metallica. Mancow Muller, a Chicago radio show, mocked Durst's appearance and suggested that listeners who were attending the show debuffle the singer and throw rubble. Durst erupted after six songs, with the crowd chanting "fuck Fred Durst" and pelting the stage with garbage. Durst was eventually sued by Chicago lawyer Michael Young in a class-action lawsuit for breach of contract (for not finishing the demonstration).

The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) was first published in May 2005. Sammy Siegler took over drumming duties for the band for a good portion of the album. The album was released as an underground album at Durst's request, but without any advertisements or promotion. The album has sold over 2,000,000 copies around the world, peaking at number 24 on the Billboard 200. Durst announced later that, despite the album's name, no sequel to The Unquestionable Truth will be released. The band dropped a Greatest Hitz album later this year.

Durst disliked people "using my music as fuel to torture others"; feeling that his music had been misinterpreted, he would later cite this as the reason for the band's suspension.

Durst also said he created a character for his music but that the public mistook him for misunderstooing: "I knew the guy in the red cap was not me." I'm Dr. Frankenstein, and that's my creature. Being a breakdancer, a tattoo artist, and a lover of rock and hip hop, Fred Durst was a conscious decision, but it was eventually necessary to get him out more than I wanted to. It took on a life of its own. I had to go back to see this person – the gorilla, the thing, and the red cap guy. It's a painful change, but I do it because it's what I was taught to do when you have people pulling at you."

Durst began working in independent films while Limp Bizkit was on hiatus. Durst appeared in the film Population 436 in 2006. The Education of Charlie Banks, Charlie Banks' debut, was announced the following year. Jesse Eisenberg, Chris Marquette, and Jason Ritter appeared in the film, but Rotten Tomatoes, a review website, gave the film a score of 46%. "Unevenness and earnestness mire this otherwise sweet, surprising coming of age drama," the website's consensus stated. In 2008, Ice Cube and Keke Palmer appeared in The Longshots, the second directorial effort. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 39 percent, with the consensus indicating that the film was "largely formulaic, seldom departing from the inspirational sports movie playbook." Durst appeared as a bartender in two episodes of the television medical drama House, M.D., during the same year.

The original lineup of Limp Bizkit reunited and began touring in 2009. Durst announced that they had released Gold Cobra, their first album. The album was released on June 28, 2011, receiving mixed feedback. On the Billboard 200, it reached its high point.

Durst appeared on Insane Clown Posse's cover album Smothered, Covered & Chunked on AMG's "Bitch Betta Have My Money" in 2012. Lil Wayne revealed in a radio interview that Limp Bizkit had signed to his company, Cash Money Records, which Durst revealed on his Twitter page in February 2012. Durst appeared on the Kevin Rudolf song "Champions," which peaked in the top ten on iTunes a few months later.

Durst was supposed to direct and produce the film Pawn Shop Chronicles starring Paul Walker, but Wayne Kramer was later chosen to direct the film. Durst shot three commercials on Eharmony's website in 2014, starring John Travolta.

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