When thinking of nice rock stars, Axl Rose probably doesn’t come to mind for most people. The Guns N’ Roses frontman often gets a bad rap, and we’re not saying whether that’s right or wrong, but he has done some nice things for people that aren’t often acknowledged.
For instance, if you search “nice things Axl Rose has done,” the first article to pop up will be a list that calls him the “biggest douche bag in rock.”
We get it, he was a hotheaded dude back in the day. He threw fits onstage, went on tangents, started a couple of riots, showed up late to shows, got into a lot of fights — the list goes on.
But considering society has rightfully grown much more accepting of mental illness, we can highlight a few reasons as to why the rocker may have acted in certain ways in the past.
Rose’s biological father left when he was very young. He grew up thinking his stepdad, Stephen Bailey, was his real dad until he was 17 when he found papers confirming that his father was actually William Bruce Rose. He later told Rolling Stone that after spending some time in regression therapy, he recalled being kidnapped and sexually abused by his father when he was 2 years old.
He occasionally mentioned having been diagnosed with manic-depression, or bipolar disorder, in interviews throughout the early ’90s, too.
Now, does this justify or excuse any of his actions? Of course not — it wouldn’t for anyone. But it can provide some insight as to why he made certain decisions and was thus painted a certain way by the media for years.
READ MORE: Is Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Paradise City’ About a Real Place?
Anyway, the point of this is that people are complicated and we aren’t here to focus on the negative things Rose has done throughout his life. Instead, we are here to focus on the good — aside from his legacy with Guns N’ Roses, of course. Here are the nicest things Rose has done for others.
10 of the Nicest Things Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose Has Ever Done
Nice things that Axl Rose has done, contrary to popular belief.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner