In all fairness, it doesn't have to be 'mercilessly hounded'. Just calmly pointed out that Morrissey supports and campaigns for far-right politics which is total anathema to most of the indie world that has always been Morrissey's natural home. If anyone disputes this, a link to For Britain's Wikipedia or Morrissey's own website (where he gave his support) ends the argument. Sadly, it's that simple. We know of course that this isn't the full picture - that Morrissey is a deeply muddled man when it comes to politics, and has probably expressed a liking for as many left wing as right-wing figures. But, tragically, the only party he has ever given a full endorsement to is of the far-right - a party that even Farage described as too extreme, and with a Conservative prime minister (Cameron) saying that Morrissey had gone beyond him, in terms of right-wing politics.
Morrissey saying he has never voted makes no difference at all, unfortunately. He needs to say that he regrets supporting For Britain and that he no longer endorses them (he could and should have done this in the recent interview with Sam Rayner). Until he says this clearly, the wider world will assume those are his politics. I remember him hitting the main national news outlets (e.g. BBC News website) three times in 2017 for supposed right-wing (or similarly ugly) views. Once or twice and people might forget. But three times and the perception of him is pretty much fixed. Since then, it's happened another two or three times in the national media.
Outside the UK, although a lot of music fans will know about this, these stories never made national news, so most people's perception of him is probably still anti-monarchy, vegetarian oddball from the Smiths, and the loss of the audience has therefore been much smaller.
Yes, lets blame Morrissey for not playing the game and making a public apology. And let’s blame people with short attention spans that only read the clickbait title, go no further, and draw their false conclusions. Also let’s blame media
for creating clickbait and articles with neither depth or reach, that never give a total picture, that never goes into the subjects reasoning, of why he feels the way he does, why he says what he once said.
Not that most really care, they only want to be told who to hate, and be ‘liked’ for hating that person too.
SAM:
You have said that you are apolitical.
M:
This remains true. I haven't ever belonged to a political party,
but you can still have political views without chaining yourself to a tree. But, calm down. There must be a little bit of everything in life, otherwise the tedium of beheading anyone who disagrees with you is not as much fun as an energizing debate and an exchanging of views. It's actually fun, especially after four pints at the Cock 'n Comfort. There's no need to set fire to your hair just because someone prefers Donald Trump to Joe Biden. The world will go on long after you've dropped dead in anger.
SAM:
What do you think of the state of American politics?
M:
I couldn't care less now. I'd rather jump naked into a swimming pool at midnight. The world will spin however it spins. My time on earth is now very limited and although I don't as yet know how, I'm going to try to enjoy it.
SAM:
Some have tried to cancel you because of your views.
M:
You can't cancel someone who has always been cancelled. When did you last see me on television, or hear me on the radio? I unintentionally invented the condition of being cancelled! [laughs] The music industry hasn't ever celebrated me or offered me free food. I've always been treated like a scientific experiment gone wrong. I'm used to it. I've been immune to enemy fire for many years. I wear a bullet-proof vest in the bath. It seems to me that as soon as one person boo's they all start to boo, and then when someone cheers they all start to cheer… but that's just a loose theory. [laughs]
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