Morrissey Reignites Feud with Johnny Marr, Slams His "Bitchslap" Comments

"He seems to me to be just as insecure and fearful as he was during the 1980s"

Photo: Raphael Pour-Hashemi

BY Sydney BrasilPublished Dec 11, 2024

Just when we thought he had admitted defeat in his latest Johnny mard, Morrissey has slammed his ex-guitarist for turning down a Smiths reunion in a rare interview.

The disgraced singer has seemingly found an ally in Medium poster Fiona Dodwell, who published a sympathetic chat with him. Alongside his usual complaints about cancel culture and Bonfire of Teenagers remaining in purgatory, he gave some insight as to why he was open to a "lucrative" deal to reunite his flagship band with Johnny Marr.

"I agreed because it felt like the last time such a thing would be possible. We've all begun to grow old," he said. "I thought the tour that was offered would be a good way of saying thank you for those who have listened for what suddenly feels like a lifetime. It wasn't because I had any emotional attachment to Marr. I have absolutely none."

When Dodwell followed up by asking how Moz feels about Marr, he did not parse words:

He seems to me to be just as insecure and fearful as he was during the 1980s. But he gains more press adoration by pretending to be the Smiths gatekeeper and custodian in isolation, and as long as he is sitting in a corner complaining about me he has a pedestal which would disappear in the event of a reunion. He claims to find me completely indigestible, but whenever he walks onto a stage he sings my lyrics, my vocal melodies and my song titles. Is this hypocrisy or self-deception? He has forced people to choose between Morrissey and Marr, and I've had just about enough of his bitchslap comments. I've quietly put up with them for over thirty years.

Of course, he polished off his Marr talk with some melodrama about having "quite limited" time left, but said he is proud of his solo career, so he's fine with it.

As for the Bonfire of Teenagers debacle, Morrissey's latest conspiracy as to why it won't get released is that labels are afraid to evoke the wrath of British newspaper The Guardian. He also referred to the record as "the modern version of The Queen Is Dead," which is certainly a choice considering his recent output.

Of course, he believes all of the above is cancel culture's fault, saying, "To be cancelled is the modern version of lynching, isn't it?"

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