Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt appeared to throw a little shade at Slash while talking about his side gig playing for Rihanna.
Recently, Bettencourt said playing in Rihanna’s band is more difficult than it sounds:
I’m sorry, most of the guitar players who I admire could not in their lifetime play that gig…Slash is one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time but I guarantee – and he’d be the first to tell you – that if he jumps up and he’s got [to] play a clean intro to ‘Rude Boy’ from Rihanna, it ain’t happening.
Bettencourt has been playing with Rihanna since 2009 and was even part of her Super Bowl halftime show earlier this year.
Days after Bettencourt made comments about Slash, Richard Fortus fired back. Fortus, who’s been in Guns N’ Roses since 2002, shared his reaction to Bettencourt’s remarks on Instagram.
“Nuno Bettencourt is one of the greats, for sure. However, there is very little Slash couldn’t do on guitar (if he wanted to),” he said. “I toured with Rihanna prior to Nuno and I’ve spent a lot of time playing with Slash. This gig wouldn’t be a struggle for him.”
The response did not sit well with Bettencourt, who set the record straight on his own Instagram, writing:
I’m responding to this not cause I give a sh*t about what this guitarist thinks about me but, instead, because I’d hate to think my few words offended a hero of mine, Slash and possibly f**k up my relationship with him.
Fortus, I’ve “respectively” never heard you play one note in my 56 years of being alive and only know your name from the Rihanna camp and as a replacement player in Guns.