Did Metallica vocalist James Hetfield commit to pay for the education of Kirk's children, as multiple social media posts declared? No, that's not true: The claims lack corroboration from reliable sources or public statements. Hetfield has made no such announcement, nor have other celebrities whom social media engagement campaigns falsely claim are making the same "commitment."
The claim appeared in several forms, including a September 13, 2025 X post (archived here) on the @Pascal_Laurent_ account. Above a photo of Hetfield, the post read:
JAMES HETFIELD, THE SINGER OF METALLICA, HAS COMMITTED TO COVERING ALL THE EDUCATION EXPENSES FOR CHARLIE KIRK'S CHILDREN.
Here's what the post looked like on X at the time this fact check was written:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at x.com/Pascal_Laurent_)
The posts provide no evidence Hetfield made such a commitment. The music press pays close attention to Metallica, the best-selling metal band of all time, with about 160 million albums sold worldwide.
But, using keywords from the post, Lead Stories searched the Google News index of thousands of news sites and found no evidence-based reporting that Hetfield had made such a gift (archived here). Similarly, a keyword search of the YahooNews index (archived here) of its partner sites and news services found no credible reports of such a gift, but did find debunks of the claim, plus versions of the claim originating on clickbait sites such as Vocal Stormbringer, managed from Vietnam.
It's not the first time Hetfield's name has been mixed with that of Charlie Kirk by engagement-farming AI slop accounts. Lead Stories on September 17, 2025 debunked an AI slop story claiming Hetfield had publicly declared Kirk's death was part of a long-brewing conspiracy. Lead Stories found no evidence Hetfield had made such a statement.
There's no social media footprint of a gift announcement by Hetfield, on his own or through Metallica's channels.
The band's Facebook page notes that Hetfield himself has no accounts on social media platforms, as part of a warning about social media scams about the band and its members:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of bio page at www.facebook.com/Metallica.)
Multiple X accounts published versions of the claim that Hetfield would pay for the education of Kirk's children. The Hetfield claim was one of a welter of stories, unsupported by evidence, claiming professional athletes, rockers, and Elon Musk volunteered to pay for the education of the Kirk children:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshots of Facebook posts found in Facebook search for posts about purported donations to Charlie Kirk's children.)
