'American Pie' Singer Don McLean Makes Rude Remark About Prince Harry, "Tell Him to Shut His Mouth"

After Prince Harry remarked that his visit to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, was underwhelming, American Pie musician Don McLean said that Harry 'just doesn't get America.' These remarks by McLean were a response to the Duke of Sussex's assertion in his biography Spare that the residence of Elvis Presley was tiny and gloomy.

When Spare was out, Don went to X to criticize him, "Prince Harry should shut his mouth about Graceland and Elvis. He is a hot house orchid, a show horse who never did a thing." The 1971 American Pie singer has gone on the offensive, accusing Prince Harry of not getting 'America' in an interview with the Daily Mail. In his accusation, he said, 'that misses the point completely' about the Duke's comparison of Graceland to Buckingham Palace.

McLean said during the interview, "He doesn’t understand that Elvis is like the poor man’s king. He came from nowhere and his recordings are among the greatest ever made. His family were as poor as they could be and Harry criticised Elvis' home as if he's comparing it to Buckingham Palace, and that misses the point completely. Here's a fellow who has been brought up to be mannerly, but you don't criticise America when you're living here as our guest." 

The Duke severely criticized the estate in his book, drawing comparisons to his former lower-floor quarters at Kensington Palace, which he referred to as his 'badger sett.' As per Express, he said in his book, "People variously called the house a castle, a mansion, a palace, but it reminded me of the badger sett. Dark, claustrophobic. I walked around saying: The King lived here, you say? Really? I stood in one tiny room with loud furniture and shag carpet and thought: The King’s interior designer must’ve been on acid."

In 1957, Presley purchased Graceland; he passed away there in August 1977, at the age of 42. Those interested in American history and popular culture, as well as admirers of the artist, now go to this shrine. Also held there was his burial, with more than 3,500 admirers paying their condolences by passing past his casket.

After Elvis passed away, the mansion became a home to many members of his family, notably his aunt Delta, who resided there until 1993. After becoming an adult in 1993, Lisa Marie Presley became the heiress to the estate and resided there for the next 30 years, until her untimely demise.

Spare which was released worldwide last year, detailed Harry's widely publicized separation from the royal family in 2020 and included an extensive list of critiques, scoldings, and complaints during his tenure as a senior member of the family.

As per USA Today, his book name was inspired by an ancient phrase meaning 'the Heir and the Spare' that describes royal households in which the firstborn child takes the crown and the secondborn serves as a caretaker for his or her elder sibling. According to Harry, the term wasn't used only by journalists and those outside the palace; even members of his own family, such Princess Diana, Prince Philip, Charles, and Queen Elizabeth, used it.