While Bryan Adams became a star with 1984's Reckless, a much stronger word should be ascribed to xenophobic comments about the coronavirus pandemic the Canadian songwriter let fly on Instagram this evening.
Today, Adams shared a solo acoustic rendition of "Cuts Like a Knife" on the platform, using the caption to lament a string of cancelled shows at London, UK's Royal Albert Hall before busting out some terribly racist remarks.
Adams proceeded to pin his cancelled performances on "some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards" for putting "the whole world...on hold."
Adams's complete caption reads as follows:
CUTS LIKE A KNIFE. A song by me. Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold. My message to them other than "thanks a fucking lot" is go vegan. To all the people missing out on our shows, I wish I could be there more than you know. It's been great hanging out in isolation with my children and family, but I miss my other family, my band, my crew and my fans. Take care of yourselves and hope we can get the show on the road again soon. I'll be performing a snippet from each album we were supposed to perform for the next few days. X
On top of the racism, Adams's unhinged caption references a prevalent conspiracy theory in which the coronavirus is believed to have been created in a Chinese lab. The claim — which has been parroted by prominent American conservatives and politicians including president Donald Trump — has been widely rejected by scientists.
While a good portion of Adams's fans continue to gloss over his ugly comments on Instagram, he has concurrently been getting tuned up on Twitter all the while.
UPDATE (5/12, 1:45 p.m. ET): Following the massive wave of backlash, Adams has now issued an apology. "Apologies to any and all that took offence to my posting yesterday," he wrote in a follow-up Instagram post (see below). "No excuse, I just wanted to have a rant about the horrible animal cruelty in these wet-markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism. I have love for all people and my thoughts are with everyone dealing with this pandemic around the world."
Today, Adams shared a solo acoustic rendition of "Cuts Like a Knife" on the platform, using the caption to lament a string of cancelled shows at London, UK's Royal Albert Hall before busting out some terribly racist remarks.
Adams proceeded to pin his cancelled performances on "some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards" for putting "the whole world...on hold."
Adams's complete caption reads as follows:
CUTS LIKE A KNIFE. A song by me. Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold. My message to them other than "thanks a fucking lot" is go vegan. To all the people missing out on our shows, I wish I could be there more than you know. It's been great hanging out in isolation with my children and family, but I miss my other family, my band, my crew and my fans. Take care of yourselves and hope we can get the show on the road again soon. I'll be performing a snippet from each album we were supposed to perform for the next few days. X
On top of the racism, Adams's unhinged caption references a prevalent conspiracy theory in which the coronavirus is believed to have been created in a Chinese lab. The claim — which has been parroted by prominent American conservatives and politicians including president Donald Trump — has been widely rejected by scientists.
While a good portion of Adams's fans continue to gloss over his ugly comments on Instagram, he has concurrently been getting tuned up on Twitter all the while.
UPDATE (5/12, 1:45 p.m. ET): Following the massive wave of backlash, Adams has now issued an apology. "Apologies to any and all that took offence to my posting yesterday," he wrote in a follow-up Instagram post (see below). "No excuse, I just wanted to have a rant about the horrible animal cruelty in these wet-markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism. I have love for all people and my thoughts are with everyone dealing with this pandemic around the world."
