Morrissey & Meat – That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore

Morrissey shared his views on the recent tragedy in Norway during his Sunday show in Warsaw, Poland. In Morrissey’s world it made perfect sense to bring up the attacks as part of his on-stage banter to introduce The Smiths’ tune “Meat Is Murder.” The song hails from the band’s 1985 album of the same name.

Here’s what the former Smiths frontman said, according to the Telegraph:

“We all live in a murderous world, as the events in Norway have shown, with 97 dead [sic]. Though that is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried s*** every day.”

The Telegraph noted that fans quickly went online to condemn Morrissey’s comments. One person questioned whether the singer’s comments were “of any use to the vegetarian cause.”        

As a vegetarian and Morrissey fan, I think this person brings up an excellent point. While it’s one thing to believe that eating meat is wrong, it’s another to insult victims (and entire countries) to get your point across. I sincerely doubt a single person has been swayed to give up meat after hearing one of Morrissey’s insensitive rants. It seems like Morrissey’s crazy talk is less about influencing fans to go vegetarian and more about a cry for attention.

This isn’t the first time Morrissey has shocked fans with his heartless choice of words. Earlier this year the singer gave an interview with BBC Radio 4 in which he criticized Prime Minister David Cameron for hunting and compared killing a deer to killing a child.

In 2010 he made headlines for racist comments he made during an interview with the Guardian. The feature included a quote from Morrissey in which he described the Chinese as a “subspecies” to explain the country’s treatment of animals.

What do you think about Morrissey’s remarks? Has he gone too far this time?

Click here for the Telegraph story.