Morrissey Claims He's Been Dropped from His Label over Diversity Hire Plans

"This news is perfectly in keeping with the relentless galvanic horror of 2020"

BY Allie GregoryPublished Nov 16, 2020

Morrissey claims he has been dropped by his label following a recent change in management.

According to the artist's Messages from Morrissey website, BMG dumped him after a new executive "who does not want another Morrissey album" moved in. The post also claims that his ousting can be attributed to the label's plans for "diversity."

"This news is perfectly in keeping with the relentless galvanic horror of 2020," Morrissey wrote. "We would be critically insane to expect anything positive."

He continued: "My three albums with BMG have been the best of my career, and I stand by them till death. Recording them has been a pivotal period in my life, and I thank the previous BMG team and everyone involved for that."

BMG has yet to issue a statement regarding the claims. Getting ahead of any potential scandal, the former Smiths singer appears to have thrown a preemptive strike, lashing out at BMG for allegedly trying to control his controversial behaviour. 

"It's still important to me to do music my own way," he said, "and I wouldn't want to be on a label that dictates so specifically how their artists should behave — especially when the word 'talent' is notably never mentioned."

In recent years, Morrissey has been subject to heavy criticism for the way he conducts himself in public. From supporting far-right political groups to troubling views on race to booting out protesters, Moz has been repeatedly called out and even outright banned in recent years over his actions. 

Earlier this year, he released his album I Am Not a Dog on a Chain through BMG. Last year, the artist released California Sun through the label. You can read Exclaim!'s 1/10 review of the latter here.
 

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