Metallica guitarist accidentally kicks child during Sydney show

[OzzyVanHalen]

There was a shocking incident caught on tape during Metallica's November 11 show at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. It happened during the performance of "Seek And Destroy," with the house lights on and the stage filled with huge black balloons. Guitarist Kirk Hammett wandered through the crowded stage, kicking balloons at random; at one point, he unknowingly kicks a small child while following through on one of the balloons.

The child is seen to be thrown backwards in the air, landing in the crowd. It's unclear, from the audience-shot footage, if Hammett kicked the child directly, or if the youth was simply thrown by the guitarist's foot connecting with the balloon. Following the kick, a roadie can be seen rushing the child across the stage, presumably headed somewhere for further attention.

Blabbermouth is reporting that the child - rumored to be Metallica frontman James Hetfield's son - was not believed to have been injured during the mishap. Note that the audio is distorted in the following video. Kirk Hammet accidentally kicks the child at about 22 seconds into the following video.

 

[LG]

I can't really see anything definitive from that video, but I hope the little kid is alright. I don't understand why they even speculated about it being Hetfield's son before confirming it...that seems unprofessional to me.

 

[Magic]

Too bad for the kid. They better hope it was Hetfield's son, if not I smell a HUGE lawsuit.

 

[Harkat]

The kid is far too far from Hammett to have been kicked from him.

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

I think Kirk just kicked the balloon and bounced the kid back.

 

[ladyislingering]

Oh, damn.
This is gonna be a media circus.