An enigma wrapped inside a mystery wrapped inside some eminently regrettable white-man cornrows, Axl Rose has long been one of pop culture’s most notorious and least prolific recluses. These days however Rose isn’t just a man with a famously stormy relationship with the press, his former bandmates, reality and, let’s be honest, the world in general: He’s a man with a twelve-night residency to promote at The Hard Rock in Las Vegas so he dropped by Jimmy Kimmel Live for his first live interview in a decade.
Kimmel himself seems shocked to be sitting opposite Rose. One of his first questions is, “Why are you doing this?” The interview is inherently anti-climactic if fascinating for the occasional glimpse into Rose’s pre-fame life, like an amusing recollection of his time as a lenient, beer-swilling manager at Tower Records, and some thoughts on Christmas, Twitter and politics. Enjoy.