The Bizarre Letter Limp Bizkit Received A Day Before The 9/11 World Trade Center Attacks
It’s been 19 years since the World Trade Center attacks. On September 11, 2001, two passenger planes crashed, with a few minutes interval (8:46 am and 9:04 am, local time), at the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Two other devices crashed over the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in a field in Pennsylvania. The attacks, which took nearly 3,000 lives, were claimed by the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.
Back in 2001, Limp Bizkit was a massive band and at that time they were all over MTV.
During an interview with MTV back in 2001, Fred Durst was asked about the fact that the video for Rollin’ was shot on top of the WTC. Fred Durst had the following to say:
MTV: Your video for "Rollin'" was shot on top of the World Trade Center towers.
Durst: We received a letter the day before the attack from the World Trade Center thanking us for letting them be a part of a video that just won an award [the 2001 VMA for Best Rock Video]. I had it framed. I found it very ironic, very bizarre that I received that letter on Monday, and Tuesday the [attacks occurred]. For me to have gotten to go to the top of such a great, powerful structure ... to have those people embrace me and let Limp Bizkit spend 22 hours on top of the World Trade Center doing what we do. ... And for it to be taken down? The structure itself means nothing to me. I don't believe in that structure being a symbol of power, of pride, of America. What means something to me is the people that were killed around and in that building innocently, for no reason except hatred. It overwhelms me. I thank God the night we were on the World Trade Center wasn't the night they decided to do that.
Check the full interview (now archived) on the MTV website.
On another occasion, in 2015 in an interview with FHM, Wes Borland expanded a bit more about this subject:
“Boy, did the video for Rollin’ backfire. It was filmed on top of the World Trade Center. On 6 September 2001 we won an MTV Video Award [‘Best Rock Video’] for it and the staff at WTC sent over a fruit basket to congratulate us. After 9/11 everyone stopped playing it. Nobody wanted to see it. Neither did we.”
Rollin’ by Limp Bizkit was the last music video to be shot on the WTC. Watch it below:
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