Billy Bragg accuses Morrissey of sharing ‘white supremacist video’ about Stormzy

Billy Bragg has issued a lengthy post about his concerns at Morrissey’s increasingly right-wing views, and warned against the idea of “separating the singer from the song”.

Morrissey has attracted even more controversy than usual in recent months by expressing support for the far-right, anti-Islam party For Britain, and for claiming in a recent interview with his nephew that “everyone ultimately prefers their own race”.

Bragg, who recently said he was “heartbroken” for fans of The Smiths over Morrissey’s behaviour, has since claimed that after Glastonbury, Morrissey shared a video on his website under the title: “Nothing but Blue Skies for Stormzy… the gallows for Morrissey”.

The clip, which appears to have since been pulled, was described by Bragg as a “white supremacist video” that borrowed footage from Stormzy’s headline performance on the Pyramid Stage “while arguing that the British establishment are using him [Stormzy] to promote multiculturalism at the expense of white culture”.

The channel that posted the original video also features clips about the “Great Replacement Theory,” a conspiracy that mass immigration and cultural warfare are being used to eliminate the white populations of Europe and North America.

“…[Morrissey] expresses support for anti-Muslim provocateurs, posts white supremacist videos and, when challenged, clutches his pearls and cries ‘Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me,’” Bragg wrote. “His recent claim that ‘as a so-called entertainer, I have no rights’ is a ridiculous position made all the more troubling by the fact that it is a common trope among right-wing reactionaries.”

He continued: “Today it was reported that research by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a UK based anti-extremist organisation, reveals that the Great Replacement Theory is being promoted so effectively by the far right that it is entering mainstream political discourse.

“That Morrissey is helping to spread this idea — which inspired the Christchurch mosque murderer — is beyond doubt. Those who claim that this has no relevance to his stature as an artist should ask themselves if, by demanding that we separate the singer from the song, they too are helping to propagate this racist creed.”

In the post, Bragg also took issue with artists, writers and critics who try to ignore Morrissey’s rants, such as The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers who, in a recent NME interview, claimed the former Smiths frontman was “still a king”.

“As the writer of the powerful Killers song ‘Land of the Free’, does he know that For Britain wants to build the kind of barriers to immigration that Flowers condemns in that lyric?” Bragg asked.

See Bragg’s full Facebook post here. The Independent has contacted Morrissey’s representative for comment.