It's a truism that when people get old, they turn conservative. Not me. But Johnny Rotten... I met him a few times but never really got to know him; never really wanted to. As much as I was in awe of his songs, I always thought he seemed creepy. I mean I once found Sid Vicious in a closet at a party overdosing and took him to a clinic... but Rotten seemed way creepier than that. So, yeah, he's a Trump supporter. Emma Nolan did an update for Newsweek. Lydon's an old man-- 64. So why not? I'm guessing he's got some money too. Rich old white guys... most of them are for Trump. And he's always been a contrary-for-the-sake-of-being-contrary kind of guy... looking for recognition for himself to boot. He backs Brexit and he backs Trump. Some Sex Pistols fans-- and Public Image fans-- are disappointed, yours truly not among them. I could care less.
A tweet showing the "God Save the Queen" singer wearing a pro-Donald Trump 'Make America Great Again' T-shirt has gone viral on Twitter this week, with one former fan decrying his idol's political views. The tweet, which has been liked more than 18,000 times reads: "10 year old me is absolutely gutted that this is what his hero turned into. John Lydon, about as punk as a game of golf. Big fuckinging poser." Podcaster and satirist Blindboy Boatclub of the Rubberbandits fame retweeted photos and asked: "How does this happen to a person? He was a working class Irish lad growing up in London. He's been vocally anti imperial. His fucking autobiography is called No Irish, No Blacks, No dogs. Is it money? Is it age? He's been an eejit for a while, but this is bad." Another person quoted the tweet with a quote from Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong who has criticized Lydon in the past. They wrote: "Billie Joe Armstrong had the best comment about the ethos of John Lydon and the Sex Pistols: 'I am the anti-Christ/Please buy our merchandise.'" Ittttt'ssssssss... Johnny! Many online are questioning whether Lydon is wearing the MAGA shirt to be provocative and not because he actually supports Trump. However, in a 2017 NPR interview, Lydon called Trump "absolutely magnificent." "I think he's absolutely magnificent. He's a total cat amongst the pigeons," he said at the time. "It's got everybody now involving themselves in a political way. And I've been struggling for years to get people to wake up and do that. In the same year, during a Good Morning Britain appearance, Lydon said Trump was a "complicated fellow" who had been "smeared" by the "left-wing media." "One journalist once said to me, is he the political Sex Pistol? In a way. "What I dislike is the left-wing media in America are trying to smear the bloke as a racist and that's completely not true. "There are many, many problems with him as a human being but he's not that and there just might be a chance something good will come out of that situation because he terrifies politicians. "This is a joy to behold for me. Dare I say, [he could be] a possible friend."
Can you love someone's music and just ignore what they are-- (or have turned into)? Of course, you can. Absolutely; it's never been a problem for me and I was involved with musicians for almost as long as Lydon has been alive. Try it for youself. That first Pistols album is truly amazing.
