After a short break from disrespecting popular British figures, I am back and ready to present another installment in my series. This week I will be disrespecting Steven Morrissey, otherwise known as just Morrissey. 

Morrissey gained a lot of popularity as the frontman for The Smiths, a 1980s post-punk band. 

I have a love-hate relationship with post-punk, while I do think post-punk is a great contrast to the 80s hair metal era of rock and that it ushered in the grunge movement of the 90s, I absolutely do not want to be associated in any way, shape or form with other post-punk fans. 

I mean come on, it’s not that serious, I don’t smoke cigarettes for the aesthetic, wear absolutely worn out Converses and dress exclusively in muted colors. 

I think post-punk fans are somewhat related to modern indie rock fans in the sense that they think their music taste is a lot better than it actually is. 

Morrissey definitely falls into this category, he takes himself much too seriously. Take for example his opinion on former president Barack Obama, whom he described on the Larry King Show as “white on the inside” and that Obama “doesn’t look African Black.” 

Don’t worry reader, I have even more terrible takes from Morrissey. Did you know he’s an outspoken animal rights activist and vegan? Do you want to know his thoughts on animal abuse in circuses and zoos in China? 

According to The Guardian, he feels it’s “absolutely horrific. You can’t help but feel that the Chinese are a subspecies.”

Morrissey sucks, he just does. Another racist thing he’s done was in 2017 when he was developing merch for his concert tour. He decided that it would be a good idea to put an image of the writer and activist James Baldwin in the middle of the shirt. 

Okay, odd idea, but whatever. Well Morrissey decided to add lyrics from one of his old songs on the shirt. What lyrics did he decide on? 

Morrissey decided that his best lyrics to compliment the image of Baldwin were, “I wear black on the outside/ ‘Cause black is how I feel on the inside.”

In case you didn’t know, Baldwin was a Black and gay man who did much during the Civil Rights Movement and explored issues of sexuality far before it was socially acceptable to do so. 

So yeah, Morrissey decided to repurpose his lyrics on depression as some weird statement that definitely disrespects the legacy of Baldwin and is definitely racially insensitive.

The artist JPEGMAFIA has a song that perfectly captures my thoughts on Morrissey, the song’s title is, “I Cannot F****** Wait Till Morrissey Dies.” It’s a banger and I’d much rather plug Peggy than some old out of touch British dude.  

Anyways, yeah I don’t like Morrissey and neither should you. There will always be that debate of whether or not you can separate art from the artist, it’s a nuanced question, I will never watch a Woody Allen movie or listen to Ted Nugent but I still watch the Chappelle Show.

For me though, Morrissey is in that category of someone who I cannot separate the art from the artist. I will never go out of my way to hear him singing about being sad or buy one of his records. 

Anyways, it’s not like I’m missing much, Joy Division is obviously the better pick for post-punk. 

Adams can be reached at [email protected].