Morrissey sparks backlash with shocking rant about Manchester bombings
The Smiths singer Morrissey has sparked a race row in a controversial Facebook post following the Manchester bombings.
22 people died and 59 were injured after extremists detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert in the UK’s Manchester Arena. Many of the dead were children, the youngest aged just 8.
After the attack, there was an outpouring of support from celebrities towards the victim. Ms Grande said she was “broken” by the violence.
But Smiths singer Morrissey, a prominent Brexit supporter, broke with the trend that stirred controversy with comments about British Muslims.
In the post, the singer claimed that London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the country’s most prominent Muslim politician, “does not condemn Islamic State”.
Mr Khan does regularly speak out to condemn both the so-called Islamic State and Islamist extremism.
As a moderate Muslim politician, Mr Khan has been personally named as a target by extremist groups. He has spoken in the past about being personally targeted for his support for LGBT rights in Parliament.
In the same post, Morrissey also accused politicians of “living in a bullet-proof bubble”, less than a year after Labour MP Jo Cox was assassinated by a far-right extremist while attending a surgery for her constituents.
The singer continued to attack Prime Minister Theresa May over her policies on immigration, saying: “Theresa May says such attacks ‘will not break us’… [but] ‘will not break us’ means that the tragedy will not break her, or her policies on immigration. The young people of Manchester are already broken – thanks all the same, Theresa.”
The singer added: “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.”
Critics argued that the attack has little to do with immigration policies – as the attacker was born in the UK.
One fan wrote: “The perp was born in Manchester Moz, you w**ker. Nothing to do with ‘immigration’. You’ve really just lost any idea of who you are, you were descended from Irish immigrants yourself, like I was. Remember the times when people were quick to blame ANYONE with Irish Catholic heritage for the crimes of the IRA?”
Another added: “Borderline-racist s**te. Unnecessarily divisive. Our thoughts and actions should be with, and for, the victims of the attack; not exploiting it for political motive.”
One fan wrote: “Little children have been killed yet people wish to turn this into a political debate and to incite racial violence grow up you tool”.
Morrissey, who has expressed admiration for former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, is no stranger to controversial comments about race.
He once described reggae music as the “total glorification of black supremacy” and claimed that he “detests black modern music”.
An outspoken vegan, he has also caused controversy by comparing mass shootings to the eating of animals.
After the 2011 attack by far-right terrorist Anders Breivik that left 97 people dead, Morrissey claimed: “We all live in a murderous world, as the events in Norway have shown… though that is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried S**t every day.”
He has also claimed that ““if more men were homosexual, there would be no wars”.
In his critically-panned 2013 autobiography, Morrissey opened up about relationships with men.
However, in a subsequent blog he wrote: “Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humasexual. I am attracted to humans.”
