Morrissey V NME

Singer Morrissey's libel battle against NME magazine over a controversial interview where the magazine printed what was considered “racist views” by the singer, is to be heard next year. The former Smiths front man has already won at a pre-trial hearing against the former NME editor, Conor McNicholas and the magazine's publisher, IPC Media.


In the interview published in 2007, Morrissey was quoted as saying that "the gates of England are flooded. The country's been thrown away. With the issue of immigration, it's very difficult because, although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears."

The issue of NME published in 2007

This is not the first time that the singer has been accused of having racist views. In Johnny Rogan's biography of the singer, it is claimed that in his late teens, he had written "I don't hate Pakistanis, but I dislike them immensely".
In a 2010 interview with The Guardian, Morrissey spoke out on the topic of animal cruelty in China, a subject that the singer feels strongly about. He said at the time, "You can't help but feel the Chinese are a sub-species".This led to Love Music Hate Racism, a yearly concert that aimed to stamp out racism in music, to whom Morrissey had previously donated money, said it would be unable to accept any support from him again unless he retracted his comments. "When you start using language like 'subspecies'," said a spokesperson for the campaign, "you are entering into dark and murky water".

Morrissey also provoked a storm when he allegedly compared the Norwegian massacre in which 76 people died in July when Anders Behring Breivik went on a murderous rampage, to the slaughter of animals for fast-food restaurant chains.

The 52-year-old, who is a staunch vegetarian and animal rights activist, allegedly made the remarks just before performing his single Meat is Murder, at a concert in Poland, telling the crowd: "We all live in a murderous world, as the events in Norway have shown, with 97 dead. Though that is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald's and Kentucky Fried shit every day."

Everybody needs and wants a musician, artist etc to be controversial and to be provocative. My favourite quote is by Sex Pistol and Public Image Ltd singer, John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten: “Its better to provoke a reaction than to act to provocation.” However, there is a large difference to being provocative and outspoken on your views to being bigoted and racist. There is no place for racism in this world it is offensive, hurtful and narrow-minded. Not to mention the wars and fights that it causes. Everyone deserves to be happy, healthy and treated as an equal regardless of the colour of their skin, their ethnicity, religious views or their country of origin.

No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them. 
                                             - Elie Wiesel 1928-, Rumanian born American Writer