John Lydon, naturalized American since 2013, had supported Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the last elections. However, it is nevertheless good for the Republican that the punk icon is soon preparing to vote. It would even be “the only sensible thing to do”, according to him. Lydon, also pro-Brexit, explained to have a soft spot for Trump because, like him, he is considered racist. “I have been accused of the same, so I take offense at anyone who calls themselves that,” he explains.
As Les Inrocks recall, the singer seems to be referring here to an episode dating from 2008. At the Spanish Summercase festival, Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke asked him if his other group, Public Image Limited (PIL), was going to re-form a day. Question to which the interested party would have answered “your problem is your black attitude”. The former Sex Pistols frontman has always denied these comments.
“Of course I am anti-racist”
Asked about the George Floyd affair, Lydon told The Guardian that “there's no one I know who wouldn't say it wasn't horrible. Absolutely! It doesn't mean that all cops are mean or that all white people are racist. Because all lives matter. ” When the journalist pointed out to him that his last sentence echoed the slogan 'All lives matter' of some opponents of the Black Lives Matter movement, he replied that it was a “misinterpretation”. “Of course I'm anti-racist,” he said, recalling having previously supported the 'Rock against racism' campaign in the 1970s or even having pushed the record company Virgin to sign reggae groups.
