Why does everyone seem to hate Morrissey?

He's a depressive, narcissistic bisexual closet case who takes offense to everything but is that really enough to hate someone?

What did Morissey do to people to make them hate him so?

He's not a closet case. He's talked about having relationships with men, including in his memoir.

He’s a quasi fascist who has expressed horrible views.

For me it's the countless times he has cancelled shows last minute, including one where he was later seen out on the town at a club. When he does show up, he's a sullen cow for most of the show.

Throw in his politics and general miserable outlook on life and there's not much to entice me to spend my money on him.

I love Morrissey and have never heard anything fascist coming from him, but I don't follow news about him that much. Just the music. Bisexusl though? I have never heard about Morrissey and women.

He claimed in his book he had a relationship of some sort with a Persian woman in LA, where children were claimed to have been discussed (that never came to be). He gave more detail than he did his male relationships, which was obviously his attempt to paint an aberrant relationship as somehow more important or even typical. He is a standard homosexual who has had some female experiences. He is about as bisexual as Liberace.

I suspect that part of what is fueling Henry Rollins' hatred in that video is not merely Morrisey's fame and money but his casual, unapologetic pansexuality. Rollins has never been fully open about his own sexuality and appears to have a lot of baggage about (toxic) masculinity. Which is a shame, because he's very appealing otherwise.

The closet kills. Especially artists.

Keep in mind that video is very old, early 90s sometime, and like most of us, Rollins will have changed a lot since then.

Because he’s an asshole!

Primary reasons I've heard cited:

From fans: habitual last minute cancellations of shows

From ex-friends, colleagues and contemporaries: very difficult to work with, or to be friends with longterm

From both of the above: his perceived lurch to the far right, in certain aspects of his personal politics

Of course, back in his prime, his misery and effeminacy upset some people. There was also jealousy.

Tori Amos tells a story at 0:51 about Morrissey being a cunt.

Marr has done nothing of major note since The Smiths, but remains an untouchable figure in music because he's a hetero guitar god.

I'd like to know Morrissey's version of events re that Tori Amos anecdote. It was a horribly rude thing to say but the fact remains this his music is great and hers is not.

He’s a white nationalist supporting racist which makes it extra strange that most of his younger American fans are Latino. He was my god in high school. He can go fuck himself…but I still love The Smiths.

I love Morrissey but r2 pretty much answered your question.

Morrissey has no problem with Latinos. Quite the contrary in fact. He loves them. His more unfortunate views stem from his bizarre nostalgia for an England that never existed. He is against mass immigration to the UK, which he correctly observes has massively changed British culture in recent decades, and not always for the better. But ultimately, yes, some of his views do seem racist to me. As a result I'm a fan of the music but no longer him.

He's racist and arrogant. That's about it.

As a Bowie fan, what sealed it for me was in 2016 he gave a concert and made a mention of all the talents that had died that year, and made it a point to exclude him because of some nothing tiff they had in the 90's

Whatever you do, don’t ignore him!

An insecure, head-case bisexual? Colour me surprised!

Morrissey vs. Siouxsie

[quote] Tragically, “Interlude,” which had the potential to outdo “Islands in the Stream” in the “realigning the celestial spheres” category of the Great Pop Duets sweepstakes, failed to make an impact on the pop world, even in the UK, its native market. Why? The answer is awesome: Siouxsie and Morrissey had a disagreement! You see, at the time, Morrissey was neck-deep in his fixation with the Union Jack and was intermittently having charges of racism flung at him for provocative songs like “Bengali in Platforms,” “The National Front Disco,” and “Asian Rut.” Apparently he wanted to use a bulldog as the central image for the promotional video. (Translation for American readers: this would be like Eddie Rabbit and Crystal Gale choosing to shoot a video for their song “You and I” in which they walk lovingly down a beach brandishing a rebel flag. You know, kind of.) This is where Siouxsie, who became infamous in her early punk rock fetish-wear days for wearing a swastika armband and had no desire to revisit that type of silliness, drew the line.

[quote] “The original video idea,” Siouxsie said, “was to show Ruth Ellis being led to the gallows, which I loved, but which didn’t happen. Instead he wanted a bulldog, which I didn’t understand. Why a bulldog? So I questioned him about his pro-British thing and told him I couldn’t have that. I said, ‘pick another dog, like a chihuahua or something. A monkey, anything!’ . . . I don’t know why he wanted to stick to his guns so much. And no, we’ve not spoken since.”

It is a nice song, though.

Weird. Isn't most of the imagery he evoked from Classic Hollywood and other Americana? Why would he be so nostalgic for the Britannia when he idolized the likes of Elvis, James Dean and Marlon Brando. At least be consistent

R15 oh dear. Not a Tori Amos dig. At least Tori Amos wasn't a massive cunt about her music.

I don't hate Tori Amos but are you seriously suggesting her music is anywhere near the quality of Morrissey's? (I'm not interested in comparing their personalities or their politics.)

There have always been rumours he has a secret fetish for leather.

He is a gay man adamantly against a radical extremist religion that wants to see gays tortured and killed.

He's a bitter cunt.

I like his music, though.

He's opinionated and holds the "wrong" opinions for a certain audience, that being cultural gatekeepers and mainstream media. Agree or disagree with him, he does seem to be a right old cunt. I enjoy his music and thought Vauxhaul & I was one of the best albums of the 90s.

I thought we just had this thread, but I think I must have been remembering the Simpsons thread from about two months ago, which was pretty funny.

Has DL ever liked Morrissey? I feel like hating him is one thing we all agree on.

Sorry, the thread at r34 is a year old but it got bumped back in January.

[quote] He is against mass immigration to the UK, which he correctly observes has massively changed British culture in recent decades

He's against the Irish? Oh, wait, wrong century.

He's an OG, top-tier troll. PERIOD.

Aside from How Soon is Now? Is any of his stuff really that good?

I wouldn't have tattooed his lyrics on me like that butch chick in Nomadland.

R38 Actually, it is. Which makes it that much worse. His solo stuff is better IMO.

I am not trying to sound like a hipsterish troll but The Smiths are at the very top of my most overrated bands of all time. At least I never got the appeal. And I consider myself pretty well versed in good, quality music. All their stuff sounds the same, sung with the same fake boredom, all lyrics narcissistic and self obsessed. I do really like "Every day is like Sunday" but that's about it.

As both a Moz fan AND rice queen, I’ve never understood the issue with Asian Rut. The song is ABOUT the racism of white English kids towards Asian students at the school, whom they gang up on and kill.

It’s not one of his best songs but it’s haunting. I guess because he uses the word “Asian” in the title it MUST mean he’s racist 🙄

I’ve never read anything he’s said that was offensive or indicated racism and in fact, if you listen to his songs, there’s a lot about police brutality. Ganglord, for example.

His humor is very biting and I’m sure that’s upsetting to fragile Gen Z. He once said Madonna would turn her African baby into a coat when she grew bored of him. This is a criticism of Madonna and her indifference to animals as well as a dig at her doing things just for attention. I thought it was pretty funny. I think anyone pretentious or cruel or any race, ethnicity or gender is going be a target for his scorn.

His music is brilliant. After reading this thread last night I made a playlist of his solo and Smiths work. It’s true that Marr’s clean, jangly guitar and melodies make the all the Smiths songs timeless, but Morrissey has a lot of great solo stuff: First of the Gang (an homage to his Latino fans, btw), King Leer, Pregnant For the Last Time, You’re the One for Me, Fatty, Life is A Pigsty. I loved his recent cover album.

Every Day is Like Sunday remains magnificent.

Rollins also hates New Order’s Barney Sumner as well. Love Morrissey and New Order and Electronic, but never heard Rollins’ stuff. Maybe that’s his problem.

The bitch can write lyrics. His melodies are okay. His schtick is consistent. He chooses evocative photos for his stage shows album covers. I wish he'd curate a book of photography. So conceptually, he's a master artist. He's no more inflammatory than Rupert Everett in interviews.

The QiD is my favorite Smiths song.

So I broke into the Palace

With a sponge and a rusty spanner

She said, Eh, I know you and you cannot sing

I said, You should hear me play piano

He mocks everyone, white royals included.

[quote]Why does everyone seem to hate Morrissey?

She borrowed the top of my Thermos and never returned it. Shallow, very shallow.

He’s a misanthropic racist twat.

OK R47 whatever you say.

I’ll continue to enjoy his music and brave pro-animal advocacy.

Honestly if canceled everyone who was problematic, we would have no movies, books, music or TV shows...

His far right views are well known, and have been for decades.

OP is another far right troll trying to normalize and downplay fascism, and cast anti-fascism as some melodramatic overreaction.

We're inundated by these trolls daily. Hourly even. It's getting tiresome and I'm about ready to give up on DL completely.

He's a vegan? That explains his grumpy mood

This guy is arrogant and reactionary but some of the posters here are full of shit if they think what he says is not what many others have on their minds. Everyone is ignorant and opinionated (informed or uniformed) about something and everyone is a product of their environment. If you don't want to support Morrissey then don't but I doubt he will change or cares about what anyone's opinions. Morrissey is a person who just likes any type of attention and as long as people reaction, he is getting what he wants. If I cancelled everyone who said or believed stupid things, then a lot of books and music I enjoyed would be gone especially from older generations. Talented and intelligent people still are people and still hold biases and ignorance about things.

I don't know whether I've heard any of his solo stuff. The Smiths songs I love are

How Soon is Now

Girlfriend in a Coma

Death of a Disco Dancer

A Rush and a Push

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

and the absolute best song for listening to while self-indulgently wallowing in misery:

Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

Morrissey wishes he was as hot as Henry Rollins. They probably fucked.

[quote] His music is brilliant.

?????

I don't think this is proper use of the term "brilliant."

[quote] If you don't want to support Morrissey then don't...

We don't.

I like some stuff like Your Arsenal. One of its singles, Tomorrow, has a nice video which I think is inspired by the Siouxsie & The Banshees video for Dear Prudence (Siouxsie prancing around in the streets of Venice with the band members following her around).

Why does he have so many Latino fans? He soldout the Hollywood Bowl and it was all cholos and cholas in traditional garb and driving lowriders. I didn't go to the show, but it was bizarre and wonderful to watch the parade to the Bowl. I couldn't help but wonder about his appeal.

A Mexican friend explained it to me - it’s the overly dramatic troubadour style has has.

Those Latino fans, blithely ignoring the “Racist!” charge, are a fly in the ointment to his detractors.

The same friend described big tough guys in wife beater t shirts with tears rolling down their eyes in the audience.

One of many papers and books on the subject:

Latino men love that leather, boots and pompadour style of Americana. So do many Japanese as well. Morrissey is popular for his image just as Madonna and Elvis.

R64 it’s also his lyrics.

He still owes me $29.00 for playing four songs and then leaving in a snit at a show in 1991... with inflation, that should be about eleventy-million in today's dollars.

R66 was that Jones Beach?

When it all became obvious. I bought this issue of the NME, and the interview sickened me as a former Smiths fan.

From his solo stuff I love "First of the gang to die"

Not trying to troll but why is waving a flag (whether US or UK) immediately considered a racist gesture?

R70, because it's VERY often done by racists trying to tell immigrants to get out.

Odd because the most patriotic people tend to be immigrants as they try very hard to assimilate and they wave the flags more than anyone.

American immigrants tend to be patriotic though mainly due to The US being marketed as a safe haven and place for freedom and material success. I guess the UK flag has a very different association maybe imperialism. Some Koreans and Chinese get offended by the presence of the Japanese flag.

Morrissey wishes he had Henry Rollins' looks, brains and talent.

I thought he was good when he sand the theme from Charmed (the good one)

You bought that NME for Kylie.

Has Henry Rollins written any songs of real note?

R73, I like Kylie too, who doesn’t? She’s pure pop sunshine.

R76, The Union Flag has been tainted by racist, xenophobic nutcases like the National Front, and more recently UKIP waving it at every opportunity. Brexit brought a lot of ugly feelings to the surface, and the more stupid extremists were jubilant. Flags everywhere. They were beating up Eastern European people and telling Black and Asian people to fuck off back “home”.

He doesn’t play nice with other artists. When he hates the music of a band or artist he doesn’t hide it.

He is a typical fascist, racist hypocrite who whines about foreigners immigrating to England and meanwhile he lives in California. He's no different from the trashy Brexiteers who moved to Spain but kept bitching about all the immigrants in England.

He thinks people like him have the right to move to and live wherever they please but God forbid people of other ethnicities should want to do the same. He is a douchebag.

R60 cholos also love oldies from the 50s. It's awesome.

R77 well Liar was one of Dr. Dre's favorite songs and videos.

I mean he's good but I didn't know how much he touched some people.

This is that scene in Nomadland where she shows her Morrissey tattoos.

R77 No.

R74 is engaging in wishful thinking.

His early solo stuff is great. I haven't really paid any attention since "Vauxhall and I" which was the early 90s

Anything good after that?

I love Morrissey. He's such an old bitch.

He made fun of Natalie Merchant and the 10,000 Manicas for covering Everyday Is Like Sunday by releasing Have A Go, Merchant. Then last year he releases an album full of lackluster covers.

Love his 90s stuff.

I think there is a thin line between patriotism (waving the country flag during World Soccer, and other (international) sports tournaments) and racism. Morrissey definitely crossed it, and he doesn't even live in England anymore.

OP, I don't get it either. He's my favorite performer.

R64, thanks for that Moz academic link. But get a look at this lard-ass syntax.

"Feeling brown in my analysis is descriptive of the ways in which minoritarian affect is always, no matter what its register, partially illegible in relation to the normative affect performed by normative citizen subjects.”

I don’t agree with his England for only the English stance, and he’s so fucking whiny but I g-damn I have loved his music since I was a teen in the 80s. This is a good article from WaPo about why Mexican Latinos adore him, very interesting.

R84 Rollins spoke to people particularly alienated young dudes and Black Flag and Rollins Band are still popular among punk an rock fans. Morrissey has a different demo mainly hipsters, a male Lana Del Rey who evokes old images and sounds to seem more interesting than he is. So there's different strokes for different folks. At least Rollins isn't a bitter stuck-up old queen like Moz

Why hasn’t Rollins just come out already?

Moz does Moz. I don’t think he cares if people slander him. The RACIST! accusation is meaningless, it’s been thrown around too much.

Love this video. There is no such thing in life as normal.

His music sounds very dated in a way that others of the genre and period don't.

The reason? The bad arrangements, the point of view. The lack of inventiveness. The bad sound. Indirection as a way around committing to anything, which is a cheat and a dodge. The wallowing in denied inexperience. The fucking laziness of it all.

I used to listen to him and the band. But now when I try I have to cut away soon. It's so tedious and rote.

Morrissey makes me feel like I could make music.

Put your depressive thoughts to melody and hire a composer and you have something similar. His singing is quite average but I guess his constant yearning for happiness in his songs is what people connect with.

If he stopped trying so hard to be happy he might actually be happy and we'd have some upbeat pop hits. Instead we have 'the depth' of a sensitive musician.

Honestly I hate cover versions of songs. I loved 10KManiacs, but I hated when they covered Morrissey's "Sunday" and also Roxy Music's "More Than This". Bitch, get your own vibe and stick to it.

Suedehead is one of the best songs ever made

He's a vortex of negativity like Livia Soprano--he hates everyone, is always bitching at everything, and is just nasty all around.

In other words, just a run-of-the-mill Datalounger.

Henry Rollins was awfully handsome and sexy when he was young but he is often a bigger cunt than anyone on DL.

Rollins narrated the Jobriath documentary.

Morrissey is problematic, self-pitying and leans on this romanticism of the past that flirts with white supremacy and right-wing nationalism like his female counterpart Lana Del Rey. Rollins is similarly opinionated and inflammatory but Rollins is strongly left-wing and isn't racist or nationalistic. Even though Morrissey has more talent and influence. I think The Rollins Band is not without merit.

Brands count for shit when we judge artistry. Rollins being "left wing" counts for shit when we evaluate his catalogue. Morrissey's music is amazing. I curate out a small handful of tracks where his politics become unacceptable to me. I can't listen to "Bengali In Platforms" or "Jackie's Only Happy When She's Up On Stage". So many of his tracks are utterly brilliant. Nothing will ever change that.

Different strokes for different folks.

[quote]I thought he was good when he sand the theme from Charmed (the good one)

Yeah, no. That's a cover version by Love Spit Love, which is inferior to the original by The Smiths.

It's a great song anyway. One of the best TV intros. For such a mediocre show.

The only way I can listen to the Smiths now is to ignore the singing and focus on Johnny Marr's playing.

I’ll take great music over “problematic” any day.

Morrissey is a genious, he is out of your stupid woke frauish categories re his private life, just like Woody Allen, Polanski or Dostoevsky.

R103 Rollins is a forgotten mediocre singer. Who gives a shit if he is Mother Theresa.

When you go to the gallery, you wanna see Picasso, even though he was a wife beater and not some average painter who may be the nicest guy on Earth.

r112, I served with Pablo Picasso. I knew Pablo Picasso. Pablo Picasso was a friend of mine.

r112, Morrissey is no Pablo Picasso.

It is about analogy R113. They may not be exactly the same rank, but you see my point.

Dostoevsky was anti semitic, anti western, xenophobic, against everyone but Russians, but I would read Karamazov brothers over some uninspired liberal drivel any day. And so on...

[quote]Morrissey is a genious

Oh, the irony...

What genus of genious is Morrissey?

[quote]the fact remains this his music is great and hers is not.

Wrong- they're both great, and she's still selling out shows while he's devolved into a tiresome twat.

Same valid reason people hate Eric Clapton - which goes over well with a lot of you repugnant racists and bigots who shriek about homophobia as you engage in the same type of hate for others.

r118, if you really believe that then you're a complete hypocrite for coming here. I have no time for you.

[quote]Why does everyone seem to hate Morrissey?

We don't "seem to hate" him- we DO hate him.

Someone making good music doesn't excuse them being stupid and inflammatory. Fangirls need critical thinking skills.

118 What the hell are you talking about. Eminem has always been extremely homophobic yet no one on this site has been asking for his cancellation. I recognize his talent and admit to have listened his first few albums. He really was good. The fact that he is deranged person who hates women and gays (obviously he likes only straight men) is his problem. But it doesn't undermine his talent.

Same for Tyler the Creator, in the beginning of his career he was turbo homophobic, but if someone wants to listen to, why not, I don't see a problem.

Just as I don't care if Morrissey is nostalgic of England as it once was, before the immigration. I like the Smiths and some of his solo works and always will.

And honestly I don't see what the fact that Eric Clapton was questioning the side effects of vaccination has to do with you, male Karen.

You have all become like some insufferable fraus from a provincial town that are playing morality police and deciding what is good for our youth.

Way too much emotion and arguments over this old dude (Morrissey) who gives no shit about anyone but himself. It reminds me of the Vadge discussions where people act so offended by everything that bitch does.

Not that invested in old, senile rockers.

R123, I didn't read all of your bullshit, because you're the asshole I'm talking about and I didn't have to read the rest of your bullshit to see where you were going. You're a fucking cliche.

.I don't defend Eminem whereas your fucking hypocritical ass defends both Morrissey and Clapton, because of course those two specifically targeting people based on race or religion is just fine with you. You're fine with stereotypes and vitriol targeted at entire groups - just leave out the homophobia and fuck with whomever else you want.. Who cares if they get attacked, right?

You're the typical, selfish, (presumably) white gay asshole I'm talking about.

R126 So you hate white gays. You are bigger racist than Morrissey and bigger homophobe than Eminem. But you don't have any talent so who gives a shit about you. Fuck off, bigot.

Morrissey fans are upset after the rock singer abruptly ended his concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles roughly 30 minutes into his set Saturday evening.

According to fans on social media, the former Smiths front man walked off the stage after performing just a handful of songs.

Moments later, a bandmate came back onstage and apologized to the crowd saying, “Sorry, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the show is not going to continue. Very sorry. We’ll see you next time. Apologies.”

The message was met with boos and jeers from the crowd.

It is unclear what the “unforeseen circumstance” was that caused the show to be halted. Some fans speculated that Morrissey couldn’t handle the chilly temperatures.

“So, #Morrissey just walked off the stage at @Greek_Theatre after 30 min. Apparently, he was too cold. Meanwhile, it’s in the 50s,” one fan tweeted.

Rollins comes across like a bitter old queen himself. What's his problem with the Brits? When it comes to music, I'll take Morrissey over Rollins any day. I wouldn't want to take a road trip with either one.

Brilliant. Love his music. No one else writes lyrics like him. Will love him til I die.

His more recent output is just not worth for me justifying that old trope of separating the art from the artist, who happens to be an increasingly irritating far right cunt. I still play the Smiths and some Morrissey from the 90's but I pretend he died after that.

I’m not sure what “far-right” or “fascist” beliefs Morrissey holds.

What are his thoughts on gender identity ideology?

[quote]He's a depressive, narcissistic bisexual closet case who takes offense to everything but is that really enough to hate someone?

Well Oh Pee, he's also a fucking racist which is an inexcusable moral failure in 2022.

[quote] What are his thoughts on gender identity ideology?

Not sure. But I know what my thoughts on derailing threads with unrelated anti-trans trolling is: F&F.

I met Morrissey. Actually, that isn't technically true, because it would suggest humanity in his actions, like shaking hands or acknowledging my existence.

I worked at a Tower Records when he made an appearance for one of his solo albums (Malajusted) and he was a heinous cunt to everyone. We were all told not to look him in the eye or speak to him unless spoken to, which was one thing for Tower staff.....but he treated his own people in such a vile way.

He has become increasingly right wing and fascist and that didn't help, nor did his tepid later solo work, but mostly, that experience killed my fandom of his work, which was really about the albums he made as a member of the Smiths.

[quote] I still play the Smiths and some Morrissey from the 90's but I pretend he died after that.

Yup.

Well, for me, it's because of what is explained in the article attached. I was there that night and he encouraged people to get really close to the stage, and then when they did, he stopped and ended the concert. I wasn't waiting to see if it all was going to get resolved and he was going to come back onstage and continue. I left and took the bus home to West Hollywood. My roommate got home a couple of hours later and said he never came back out again. Fuck him!

The excuse in that article at R128 cracks me up- he's from the UK but thinks a Southern Californian night is too cold?

[quote]I don't hate Tori Amos but are you seriously suggesting her music is anywhere near the quality of Morrissey's?

Apples and oranges comparison, and at least each of her albums has a different, distinctive sound, which is more than I can say about his music.

[quote]at least each of her albums has a different, distinctive sound

This is all subjective of course but I have never understood why that quality is supposed to be inherently a good thing. A person could put out 4 god awful records in a row with each one sounding completely different from the other 3, but that doesn’t make them any good. (I have no idea what Morrissey’s solo albums sound like, haven’t heard a note of them, and Tori Amos is unbearable to me, but I stand by this—diversity of styles between albums is not at all indicative of high quality or elevated artistry.)

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