FOLLOWING the 2024 Grammy Awards, a controversy erupted within the alternative music community, spurred by a post from a music page on X (formerly Twitter).
The post featured a fabricated quote attributed to Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox, suggesting sour grapes over Metallica’s Grammy win. LaPlante promptly denied making any such comments and expressed her joy at meeting bassist Robert Trujillo during the event.
Spiritbox was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 66th ceremony alongside Metallica for its song Jaded.
Trujillo graciously accepted the award on behalf of Metallica, highlighting the band’s familial and collaborative spirit, especially during the creation of their latest album, 72 Seasons.
After the ceremony, a now-deleted fabricated quote attributed to LaPlante was shared by the Discog Discourse page, sparking widespread controversy.
Despite the page’s clarification that the quote was fictitious, LaPlante addressed the situation due to its widespread circulation. “This is made up,” she stated. “I’ve had a lot of people message me about this and it’s the opposite of how I feel. It’s an honour to lose to Metallica.”
She further expressed her understanding of satire but emphasised the need for proper execution to convey its intent.
“Good satire or sarcasm doesn’t need to be clarified,“ she added. In her response, LaPlante also reflected on the issue of clarifying satire, highlighting the challenge of ensuring the audience understands the intended tone of the message.
Despite the controversy, LaPlante maintained a positive outlook, focusing on the honour of being nominated alongside Metallica and the memorable experience of meeting bassist Trujillo during the event.
