Lydon Doubles Down on Donald

Earlier this month, I quasi-gave John Lydon the benefit of the doubt of just simply being antagonistic, predictably contrary and cheekily provocative when it came to his recent endorsements of Donald Trump, asserting that I choose to remember Lydon/Rotten as he was more than as he currently is.

Well, he’s only made that harder in the ensuing weeks by doubling down on his support for the president in advance of November 3, going so far as to go on Fox’s Greg Gutfeld show to wax vitriolic about Democrats and praise Trump for being a genuine “human being.”

Let me tell you, if you’ve ever been a fan of Lydon's and have even a modicum of awareness about the fetid nest of avarice and totalitarian megalomania that is the Trump Administration, it’s pretty rough going. Poor old giddily sycophantic Greg Gutfeld is barely able to get a word in as Lydon -- in typically self-congratulatory mode -- goes on a selective series of directionless rants about his misgivings with the Democratic Party and the Obama Administration, while repeatedly letting Trump off any and all hooks because he is, once again “thinking for himself” (more like thinking ONLY OF himself, John) and being “a human being.” Really? Last time I checked, the average human being had at least small degrees of empathy and compassion, two qualities Trump inarguably lacks.

How Lydon has gotten so snowed by this perception of Donald Trump is entirely confounding, but obviously, he’s perfectly entitled to his opinion. I was fully ready to sigh with resignation and leave it at that until, just towards the end of the interview, Gutfeld largely parts with Fox News policy and deigns to mention the pandemic, suggesting that he and Lydon get together in person when the COVID-19 crisis ends, to which Lydon replies “Did it ever really start?”

I’m not going to unpack chapter and verse about first hearing the music of the Sex Pistols and, later, Public Image Ltd., as I’ve probably done so numerous times in this blog’s fifteen year existence. Suffice to say, like many from my generation who share the particular predilections of Punk Rock, the impact that music, those records and those individuals — foremost among them Mr. Lydon — had on me is profound. At the risk of sounding rapturously histrionic, his was as informative a voice in my development and sensibility as those of some of my respected college professors and older work colleagues. He’s always been a figure I was inspired and galvanized by.

This just might be the dealbreaker. 

If you can stomach it, hear the whole thing here. 

Comments

[Fuck Punk]

So no fuck John Lydon from you? Cuz he was in some shitty overrated punk bands four decades ago? After he denied COVID 19 existed on national tv and really to the entire world. Nice selective outrage dude. LOL & SMH at you using dealbreaker.

Say it: FUCK JOHN LYDON.

He's a piece of shit I would punch in the face for what he said if I EVER saw his pale bloated ass on a NYC street.

[Alex in NYC]

Respectfully, I usually prefer to be a bit more nuanced in my summations. By asserting that this is a dealbreaker, I am in my own manner expressing the same thoughts you're suggesting. To each their own.

[gregoire alessandrini]

I was also very disappointed to hear this crap from Lydon. Especially arguing that he's always on the side of the working class. Lydon who used to be so clairvoyant, right on and saying a lot things that made lot of sense is now as ignorant as Trump's supporters. it also completely goes against the image you have of him after reading his great biography (Anger is an energy).
Well, the Pistols and punks used to wear shirts saying Fuck Pink Floyd ! Maybe it(s time to say Fuck Lydon !

[Dave]

I realized that Trump and Lydon have something in common- when they speak in interviews or publicly they warp reality to their own agenda using strawmen, lashing out at non existent enemies, and just answering a question with a unrelated skewering answer that accuses the interviewer of something. Lydon has done this since he's been "Rotten."

[Lesley]

one word: oy.

the yiddish oy, not the punk one...