METALLICA's JAMES HETFIELD Warns Fans Of Imposter Accounts On Social Media

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield has taken a stand on social media impostors holding an active account in his name.

Earlier today, the 59-year-old musician took to the METALLICA social media to inform his fans and followers who are following such fake accounts to not indulge in any conversation with the account holder.

"There are people online that have assumed my identity, spreading misinformation, and have caused damage to other people.

"There are imposters and predators out there. This is out of my control, but it is in your control who you choose to connect with. Please be careful on socials and vet people before getting in contact with them.

"To be clear...I am not on any social media forms, Facebook, Instagram, etc. The only connection I have with social media is through the official METALLICA website and official METALLICA socials.

"If you are following or communicating with someone who you think is or is portraying themselves as me... it is not me.

"I hope this helps those who have been or are getting deceived and are ashamed to talk about it.

"With love and respect, James 'Papa Het' Hetfield".

Back in December 2016. Hetfield spoke to The Canadian Press about his decision to abandon his Instagram profile more than three years earlier after posting regularly on the photo-sharing social media site for close to twelve months.

"I got sucked into the social media around… I was trying to be hip, trying to be cool," Hetfield explained. "You know, my kids are on Instagram [so I thought], 'I wanna try this thing.' I just wanted to look like the cool dad to my kids. And I ended up being just… It was this huge time sucker, and that's all I was thinking about. 'Oh, hey, I'm here. I can take a picture and put it on Instagram and get some hits,' or whatever, and trying to get many followers… But there is a good part to that — you know, there's actually people you can meet and converse with and get to know, and then when you get to their town, you're [like], 'Wow, hey, you're here.' And you make a friend. But most of the time, it was just sucking my time, and I just started to neglect regular life. It was living in the cyber world, and it was not for me."

Last August, TMZ reported that James and his wife of more than two decades had called it quits.

Sources close to the former couple told the tabloid site James filed for divorce from Francesca Hetfield in their home state of Colorado earlier last year.

Hetfield met Francesca in 1992 and they have been married since 1997. The two are said to still be in touch as they co-parent their daughters Cali and Marcella, and son Castor.

James and his family moved to the "super quiet" Vail, Colorado after decades of life in the San Francisco Bay Area. He told podcaster Joe Rogan that loved visiting Vail because he could feel like "a part of nature" and take part in one of his favorite hobbies, hunting, with less judgment.

METALLICA will release its 12th studio album, "72 Seasons", on April 14 via the band's own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with Hetfield and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track "72 Seasons" is METALLICA's first full-length collection of new material since 2016's "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct".

METALLICA's "M72" world tour will feature two-night stops in nearly two dozen cities. Presented worldwide by Liquid Death and Blackened American Whiskey (in North America only) and promoted by Live Nation, the 46-show trek will launch in Amsterdam on April 27 and will include shows all over Europe and North America through 2024. Each "No Repeat Weekend" on "M72" will feature two completely different setlists and support lineups. The "M72" tour will feature a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage, as well as the "I Disappear" full-tour pass and the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age. Opening acts for the tour include PANTERA, MAMMOTH WVH, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, ICE NINE KILLS, ARCHITECTS, VOLBEAT and GRETA VAN FLEET.