Whether you love him or hate him, it’s hard to ignore Morrissey when he decides to go on a publicity blitz such as the one he’s currently on in promotion of his latest album, Low in High School . The legendary Smiths frontman has been making the rounds since the album’s release last week, and in typical Morrissey fashion, he is getting more attention for comments he’s been making than he has for the actual music he’s released.
Like current U.S. President Donald Trump, Morrissey is known for making controversial statements that get attention. But much unlike Donald Trump, Morrissey does not seem to think Trump is good for the United States or the world. In fact, in a recent interview with German magazine Der Spiegel , Morrissey has admitted that he would kill Donald Trump to save humanity.
“I would, for the safety of humanity,” Morrissey replied after being asked if he would push a button to kill Trump if that were an option. “It has nothing to do with my personal opinion of his face or his family, but in the interest of humanity I would push.”
The German interview, translated by NME , has Morrissey explaining that he feels the American media are responsible for elevating Trump by giving him attention. Morrissey, who is something of an expert at harnessing media attention for making controversial statements, blames the media for elevating Trump while giving relatively little attention to other candidates such as Bernie Sanders.
“Trump has received so much attention, especially when compared to other candidates – Bernie Sanders, for example,” Morrissey said. “Although the media said he would not win, every day, all the headlines: Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump!”
The opening lines of Morrissey’s Low in High School suggest he is no fan of the mainstream media and the ways they manipulate the public consciousness.
On “My Love, I’d Do Anything For You” Morrissey sings, “Teach your kids to recognize and despise all the propaganda filtered down by the dead echelons, mainstream media.”
Morrissey’s recent controversial statements do not end with comments about killing Donald Trump. As previously reported by the Inquisitr , Morrissey also expressed some controversial views that some people have interpreted as blaming the alleged sexual assault victims of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. The argument can perhaps be made that Morrissey’s comments were more nuanced than he’s being given credit for, but they certainly won him some negative attention, which is very likely what he was after. More recently, Morrissey has come out in opposition to the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts against Israel due to what BDS activists such as Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters see as that country’s human rights abuses against Palestinians. According to Jerusalem Post , Morrissey sees the tactics of the BDS movement as an attack on free speech.
“It is narrow-minded,” Morrissey said of the BDS movement’s campaign of shaming artists who choose to perform in Israel. “Being politically correct is incorrect. It means forbidding the freedom of speech. This is how the BDS movement sounds to me.”
Whether you agree or disagree with Morrissey about these or any of the other topics he has been vocal about throughout his career, one thing he really cannot be accused of is self-censorship. If Morrissey believes something, he is going to let the world know.
[Fatured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]