John Lydon Is Still Whining About Danny Boyle's Sex Pistols Series

The former frontman says his bandmates "can all f*** off" for "cutting" him out of the show

BY Allie GregoryPublished Apr 18, 2022

John Lydon — a.k.a. former Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten — has continued his campaign against Danny Boyle and his former bandmates for their participation in Pistol, a forthcoming Disney+ miniseries based on Steve Jones' memoir, Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol.

Speaking with The Sun in a new interview, Lydon blasted Jones and Pistols drummer Paul Cook for pushing the series forward without his blessing, telling the publication, "Cutting me out is a shockingly stupid move. It's so ridiculous. It's so preposterous."

He continued: "They can all f*** off. I supported them for years and years and years, knowing they were dead wood."

Lydon also claimed that his bandmates kept the series secret from him "for three years," alleging that they would go on to use his image and name to promote the work. Regardless, the former frontman did say he plans to flip the TV on when the series premieres on May 31.  

"I don't really want to watch it but I will need to fact-check it," he said. "I have not seen one single second of it. Not any script, I've been completely ostracised. To be misrepresented in such a rude manner is unacceptable. If there was any truth in it, they wouldn't have kept it from me."

By the sounds of it, Lydon might be gearing up to launch another lawsuit. Cook and Jones were recently embroiled in a legal battle with Lydon, whom they sued for the rights to use Sex Pistols' music in Pistol. Last year, a judge granted Cook and Jones "majority voting rules" to go ahead with the use of their music in the series, upholding the terms of their 1998 band management agreement, effectively giving them permission to move forward on the project without Lydon.

"None of these f***s would have a career but for me," Lydon told The Sun. "They did nothing before, they've done nothing since."

Whether participating in the miniseries constitutes "nothing" is up for debate, but it's arguably miles more creative than, say, dancing around in a jester costume for The Masked Singer. As proven by a recent trailer, as well as the courts of London last year, Lydon's opinions mean very little when it comes to the power of Disney. 

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