Damon Albarn Criticizes Morrissey's Political Views: "You Shouldn't Even Have an Opinion"

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Jul 22, 2019

Damon Albarn is the latest British musician to denounce Morrissey's recent support for the far-right political party For Britain.
 
In a new interview with NME, Albarn and his the Good, the Bad & the Queen bandmate Paul Simonon spoke out against the former Smiths' singer for his controversial views.
 
When asked about Moz, Albarn described him as "a complicated soul," while Simonon asked, "Does he live in England?"
 
"No, he lives in California," Albarn retorted. "He doesn't care. He's just doing it to wind people up."
 
Simonon said, "Sometimes if you are away and you don't live in the country, then you've got a misconception of what the reality is from the ground up. It's the same as John Lydon — he's sort of got to a certain level and he's [entitled] to his views, but if you don't live here, your vision of it is in a bubble."
 
Albarn added, "Yeah, I totally agree. You shouldn't even have an opinion. If you don't live in the country, then you shouldn't be dabbling in its politics because to have the sensitivity to understand, you have to live amongst the emotional world of the people as well, not just the idea of something. That's a long way from reality… So I think if you wanna be miserable and English, you've gotta be miserable and English. You know — really be it."
 
Morrissey has become more vocal in his support for For Britain in recent months, wearing the party's button during a television performance and defending their controversial policies.
 
For Britain was founded by anti-Islamist Anne Marie Waters after she left the U.K. Independence Party. She has personally thanked Morrissey for his support.
 
Billy Bragg is amongst other artists who have condemned Morrissey's far-right politics.

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