Queen guitarist Brian May is calling out anti-vaxxers like Eric Clapton, who last week said he would not be playing shows at venues that require attendees to produce proof of vaccination.
Speaking during an interview with The Independent, May said Clapton, as well as other people who opposed the COVID-19 vaccine, were "fruitcakes."
"I love Eric Clapton, he's my hero, but he has very different views from me in many ways," May said. "He's a person who thinks it's OK to shoot animals for fun, so we have our disagreements, but I would never stop respecting the man. Anti-vax people, I'm sorry, I think they're fruitcakes."
May went on to state that there was "plenty of evidence to show that vaccination helps" and that, "on the whole, they've been very safe.
"There's always going to be some side effect in any drug you take, but to go around saying vaccines are a plot to kill you, I'm sorry, that goes in the fruitcake jar for me," May added.
Clapton's refusal to play venues requiring attendees to show proof of vaccination came in response to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that people wishing to enter nightclubs and venues would be required to provide vaccine passes.
"Following the PM’s announcement on Monday the 19th of July 2021 I feel honour bound to make an announcement of my own," Clapton wrote in a statement shared via the Telegram account of Italian architect and COVID skeptic Robin Monotti. "I wish to say that I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present. Unless there is provision made for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show. Eric Clapton."
Clapton previously spoke of his negative experience after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine earlier this year. After his second jab, Clapton said his reaction was "disastrous." Writing on Monotti's Telegram account, he described how his hands and feet were "either frozen, numb or burning, and pretty much useless for two weeks.
"I feared I would never play again," Clapton continued, adding that he should "never have gone near the needle" given that he suffers from peripheral neuropathy. "But the propaganda said the vaccine was safe for everyone," he wrote, according to Rolling Stone.
While there are celebrities who strongly oppose the vaccine, others are desperate for a speedy rollout. Among them is actress Rebel Wilson who said recently that she was willing to "be a mule and smuggle vaccines from America to Australia."
The remark was meant to be a lighthearted quip on her Instagram Stories, but it echoed the quiet desperation and frustration of many citizens in Australia who are facing a surge in COVID cases as well as the re-introduction of stricter lockdown measures.
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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