Snoop Dogg faces anger over photos of himself next to Paul Gascoigne to highlight alcohol and cannabis abuse comparison
Piers Morgan was among those who weighed in
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Your support makes all the difference.Footballer Paul Gascoigne has expressed his gratitude after fans leapt to his defence after Snoop Dogg appeared to mock his alcoholism with a meme posted on his Instagram account.
The rapper uploaded the meme on Wednesday 26 June, which contrasted his years of marijuana use with Gascoigne’s own struggles with alcohol addiction.
The image, featuring a photograph of a 20-year-old Gascoigne alongside a photo of him aged 47, and two contrasting photographs of Snoop Dogg at 20 and at 47, attempted to mock their respective addictions, and point out the substance that had taken the greater physical toll.
Snoop, who did not caption the upload nor clarify where he found the meme, faced immediately backlash, with many arguing that it belittled Gascoigne’s well-documented problems with drugs and alcohol.
“Nothing like mocking the afflicted,” wrote one Twitter user. “This is a really low blow.”
“You are attacking a very sick legend,” read an Instagram comment, while another tweeted: “Snoop Dogg disrespecting Paul Gascoigne, considering he suffered with alcoholism and other issues. F****** disgrace.”
Piers Morgan also got involved, tweeting: “This is nasty. Shame on you Snoop Dogg.”
In a Twitter post this afternoon, Gascoigne himself appeared to respond to the controversy. Along with posting a photograph of himself in which he sports two paper teardrops stuck to his face, Gascoigne wrote: “Wow thanks so much [for] your tweets, loved them. As you can see a few tears, but honestly I love you’s guys [sic] be good, enjoy the rest of the day, huge hugs from Gazza.”
Since retiring from football in 2004, Gascoigne has been beset by battles with addiction and mental illness.
He has talked extensively about having undergone treatment for a number of ailments, including alcoholism, obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder.
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