Morrissey says bah humbug to Channel 4's alternative Christmas message
“My view that the monarchy should be quietly dismantled for the good of England is reasonably well-known, but I don’t think Christmas Day is quite the time to be trading slaps," says the musician
For this Christmas at least, bigmouth will not strike again. Morrissey says that he has turned down an offer by Channel 4's to front their alternative Christmas message, saying that Christmas Day is not the time to be "trading slaps" with the Queen.
The Alternative Christmas Message is Channel 4's rival to the traditional Royal Christmas Message delivered by the Queen on the BBC. Presenters before have ranged from humorous figures such as Ali G and Marge Simpson to serious ones like NSA whistlblower Edward Snowden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran. Former The Smiths frontman Morrissey, known for his firm anti-monarchy stance, would have been an ideal fit for the slot, but posted a statement on fan site True To You saying that he had "politely declined" the channel's request.
“My view that the monarchy should be quietly dismantled for the good of England is reasonably well-known, but I don’t think Christmas Day is quite the time to be trading slaps," he said.
Morrissey also suggested that the Queen “should be allowed the impassioned trance” of her annual speech, “if only to once again prove that, in her frozen posture, she has nothing to offer and nothing to say, and she has no place in modern Britain except as a figure of repression; no independent thought required.”
He added: “The Queen very well might be the most powerful woman in England, but she lacks the power to make herself loved, and the phoney inflation of her family attacks all rational intellect. All over the world highly civilised peoples exist without the automatic condescension of a ‘royal’ family. England can do the same, and will find more respect for doing so.”
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However, a spokesman for Channel 4 has told RadioTimes.com that no offer has been made to Morrissey, saying: “We are not aware of any approach having been made to Morrissey to deliver Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas message.”
It's fair to say, though, that Morrissey – who named a Smiths track, and an album, The Queen Is Dead – is would be an ideal candidate to rival royalty. In the past, he has been vocal against the royal family's penchant for hunting, has suggested that they were partly responsible for the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha – who took her life after falling for a prank call about the Duchess of Cambridge – and has compared the Queen’s position of of power to that of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
It has not been confirmed who will be presenting the alternative Christmas message in Morrissey's place.
