Morrissey, formerly of The Smiths, announced shows in Brazil; remember some of the musician’s controversies
One of British music’s most controversial personalities, Morrissey announced that it will play two shows in Brazil still in 2023. The former vocalist of the band The Smiths passes through São Paulo and Brasília on the 27th and 30th of September, respectively, according to an announcement made on its website and social networks.
Known for his fiery personality, Morrissey he does not hide his views and has already offended several people, minorities and even professional colleagues.
Remember some of the main controversies involving the musician:
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus would participate in the album Bonfire of Teenagers, but left the project without further explanation. Morrissey denied that the decision came about for political reasons. Known for controversial opinions, the former lead singer of The Smiths would feature the singer on the track “I am Veronica.”
The musician denied that he is aligned with the “extreme right” and claimed that there was a campaign to “take him out of circulation.” According to him, bureaucratic reasons involving the end of his contract with Capitol Records (Los Angeles) were the main reason, in addition to disagreements between other people on the team. “In truth, miley left the project for reasons unrelated to me, after falling out with a key figure in the circle,” he wrote, without elaborating on the “private spat.”
Capitol Records
In addition to the disagreement over the participation of Miley Cyrus, the departure of Morrissey from Capitol Records had other controversies. The label shelved the release of Bonfire of Teenagers and the singer accused them of fascism.
Brexit
When the Brexit referendum result was announced, Morrissey said he found it “magnificent”. For him, the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union would be a great way to “help maintain the identity of British culture”.
Canceled a show because “it was too cold”
In 2017, Morrissey canceled a concert in Paso Robles, Calif., at the last minute, claiming that “it was too cold to perform”.
Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey
In an interview with Spiegel Online, Morrissey confessed that he thought Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey – both accused of sexual abuse and harassment – were suffering a “witch hunt”. “If everything went well and that [o assédio] gave them [vítimas] a great career, they wouldn’t talk about it.”
About Spacey, Moz was specific: “As far as I know, he was in a room with a 14-year-old boy. Kevin Spacey was 26 and the boy was 14… When you’re in someone’s room, you have to be aware of what it can lead to. To me, this is why none of this seems credible. It seems to me that Spacey is being attacked unnecessarily.”
James Baldwin
Great black writer and defender of human rights, the American James Baldwin had his face stamped on a T-shirt that was for sale during Moz’s 2017 tour.
The piece of clothing had the writer’s face with an excerpt from the song “Unloveable”, from the album The Queen is Dead (1986): “I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel inside”. The reaction was negative and the T-shirt was withdrawn from sale shortly afterwards.
Barack Obama
In participation in the online program Larry King Now, in the United States, the singer declared: “Is Obama white inside? This is a very logical question. I think he probably is.”
donald trump
In an interview given to Der Spielg, the reporter asked Morrissey: “Let’s say there is a button here that, if pressed, kills Trump. Would you squeeze him?” The former Smiths replied: “I would squeeze, for the safety of humanity. And that has nothing to do with my personal opinion of him or his family. I would squeeze because it has to do with what is good for humanity.”
List of the Lost reviews
Morrissey has responded to criticism of his debut book, 2015’s List of the Lost, by saying that poor reviews are actually attacks on him as a human being.
In an interview with the website Chilean, Morrissey stated: “I strongly believe in free speech and critics have the right to say whatever they want,” said the singer. “However, the ratings are attacks on me as a human being.”
Jamie Oliver
In 2014, the former Smiths frontman attacked British chef Jamie Oliver saying he “should serve his own children for food as he is so fond of cooking young animals”.
David and Victoria Beckham
Morrissey, who refers to the couple as “The Peckhams”, describes them as “insufferable” and says they should “be dragged out of the village and flogged”.
2012 London Olympics
During the 2012 Olympics in London, Moz made an open letter to his fan club, in which he attacked the royal family and the event. He detonated the “noisy pride” and compared the climate lived in the United Kingdom with that of Nazi Germany.
“The ‘dazzling royalty’ are using the Olympics for their own empirical needs, and no opposing voices are allowed in the free press… The spirit of 1939 Germany now permeates all of the British media.”
kate and william
Morrissey linked the suicide of a London nurse to Kate Middleton. “No one blames Kate Middleton, who was in the hospital for no reason, as far as I can see… She is not ashamed of this woman’s death. The arrogance of English royalty is unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable.”
Morrissey had his band wear T-shirts saying “We hate William and Kate” during a concert.
Norway terrorist attack
In 2011, months after a terrorist attack in Olso, Norway, where 77 people died, Morrissey shouted to his audience during a performance in Warsaw, Poland: “This is nothing compared to what happens at McDonald’s and at Kentucky Fried. every day”.
Chinese
During a 2010 interview with The Guardian, Morrissey criticized the Chinese government’s lack of regulation of animal cruelty in China. But, he didn’t stop there and attacked all the people in the country, saying, “You cannot deny that the Chinese are a subspecies.”
Coachella festival
During the festival, in 2009, Morrissey was performing at the famous California festival when he stopped the show to say that he was smelling smoke – coming from the food made there. “I can smell burning flesh… My God, I hope it’s human flesh.”
Moz tried to continue but couldn’t stand the smell, and during “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Other” Moz walked offstage. “The smell of burning animals makes me sick. I couldn’t take it,” she explained.
Elton John
In the documentary The Importance of Being Morrissey, from 2002, the former Smiths released the following sentence: “Bring me the head of Elton John… is an example of meat that would not be considered murder if it was served on a plate”.
Hitler
Morrissey once stated: “As far as racism is concerned, the lunatics of the modern left seem to forget that Hitler was leftist.”
Madonna
In 1997, Morrissey insulted the Queen of Pop: “She reinforces everything that is absurd and offensive. Desperate femininity. Madonna is the closest thing to organized prostitution there is.” He refers to Madonna as “McDonna”.
Electronic music
In 1992, Morrissey criticized electronic music for Details magazine. “It is a refuge for the mentally handicapped. It’s made by boring people for boring people.”
Prince Charles
When asked about the incident in which an Australian student shot the Prince of Wales with a pistol in 1992, Morrissey replied: “I wish Prince Charles had been shot. I think it would make the world a much more interesting place.”
Bob Geldof and Band Aid
In 1985, Morrissey attacked the Band Aid charity group and its co-founder. “Bob Geldof is a nauseating character. Band Aid was the most hypocritical platform in the history of popular music.”
Band Aid was a band that emerged from the union of English and Irish musicians in order to raise funds for the fight against famine in Ethiopia. They released the album Do They Know It’s Christmas?.
The Cure
On Morrissey’s take on The Cure, he’s curt and acidic: “Robert Smith is a bottomless bag of complaints.”
reggae
In 1984, Moz said in an interview that he hated reggae music. He called the genre “the most racist music in the entire world”. For him, the musical genre glorifies black supremacy.
Margaret Thatcher
In 1984, Morrissey lamented the failed assassination attempt on Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher after a Brighton hotel bombing. “The sadness of the IRA (Irish Republican Army) bombing in Brighton is that Thatcher escaped unscathed.”
Original text by Fernanda Talarico published in November 2018 available at rollingstone.com.br
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
