Longtime Guns N’ Roses Guitarist Makes Shirt in Response to 35-Year-Old Meme

Longtime Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus has created a shirt in response to a 35-year-old meme.

The shirt, which is available through the merchant Agent Royale, features Fortus’ signature logo with the text “I Don’t Know Where Izzy Is” across the chest. The guitarist shared a screenshot of the shirt with a link to purchase it on his Instagram story earlier today (April 9).

Priced at $45, the shirt can be purchased at this location. See a photo below.

What Is the Shirt in Response To?

In October of 1991 — years before Fortus joined Guns N’ Roses — the band shared the video for the Use Your Illusion I track “Don’t Cry.” During a scene in the video, someone on set had a sign that said read, “Where’s Izzy?,” as Izzy Stradlin was absent from the filming of the video.

Stradlin officially left the group the following month, and “Where’s Izzy” has become a recurring meme ever since. Fans shout it at their concerts, even to this day and others still occasionally recreate the sign and hold it up.

When Did Richard Fortus Join Guns N’ Roses?

Fortus has been in Guns N’ Roses since 2002 and is the third-longest standing member of the group after Axl Rose and Dizzy Reed.

READ MORE: The Promise Axl Rose Made to a Member Before Guns N' Roses Got Signed

Many fans probably assumed that when Slash and Duff McKagan rejoined the group in 2016 that it meant the rest of the Appetite for Destruction lineup would return as well, including Steven Adler in addition to Stradlin.

The guitarist was rumored to have discussed the reunion with the band, but wrote in a since-deleted tweet that they “didn’t want to split the loot equally.”

Where Is Izzy Stradlin Now?

Stradlin has kept a low profile over the last several years. His last known musical effort was some guitar contributions on John Mellencamp’s song "Grandview." The guitarist lives a mostly private life in California.

For a timeline of all of Guns N’ Roses' different members over the years, check out the gallery below.