Has the British artist Steven Patrick Morrissey, often known simply by his last name Morrissey, embraced the alt-right? Or is he just living proof that not every celebrity Brit is a moral coward?
This week, the former frontman for The Smiths has attracted media attention after he condemned Halal meat as “evil,” called out attempts to sabotage Britain’s exit from the European Union, and denounced British Prime Minister Theresa May, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbot.
This isn’t the first time Morrissey has ignored his public relations team. In 2017, following the Manchester terrorist attack, Morrissey criticised politicians for refusing to acknowledge the attacker’s extreme Islamic ideology.
“For what reason will this ever stop?” he expressed. “Theresa May says such attacks ‘will not break us’, but her own life is lived in a bullet-proof bubble, and she evidently does not need to identify any young people today in Manchester morgues… Also, ‘will not break us’ means that the tragedy will not break her, or her policies on immigration.”
“Sadiq Khan says ‘London is united with Manchester’, but he does not condemn Islamic State – who have claimed responsibility for the bomb,” Morrissey continued, before asking why politicians always use the term “extremist.”
“An extreme what? An extreme rabbit?” he asked. “In modern Britain everyone seems petrified to officially say what we all say in private. Politicians tell us they are unafraid, but they are never the victims. How easy to be unafraid when one is protected from the line of fire. The people have no such protections.”
Hear hear! During a time in Europe where being patriotic is considered with great suspicion, Morrissey stands defiantly against the grain, which impresses free-minded people everywhere.
Other recent hotspots from the singer have included his attacks against “nauseating” liberal elitist Bob Geldof, his praise of the “magnificent” outcome of Brexit, and his ongoing war against biased news outlets, including the BBC and the Independent– the latter of which attempted to smear Morrissey for wrapping himself in the Union Jack on stage.
In response to Morrissey’s remarks, journalists from Vanity Fair, BuzzFeed, and Dazed have called him “racist.” One Vice columnist claimed the singer had been “mousetrapped” by the “alt-right.”
Despite the media’s frequent attempts to paint Moz as an old decaying fool who has lost touch from both reality and his fanbase, time after time he speaks out. This is at a time when most Brits are too afraid to even stick up for Count Dankula, the Scottish comedian currently being prosecuted for filming his dog perform a Nazi salute.
Morrissey, though whiny he can sometimes be, serves as an inspiration. Steven take a, Steven take a bow …
