Singer Ian Brown is facing a backlash after one of his tweets appeared to suggest he was against coronavirus vaccines, lockdowns and face masks.
The former Stone Roses frontman, 57, sparked outrage when he posted: “NO LOCKDOWN NO TESTS NO TRACKS NO MASKS NO VAX #researchanddestroy.”
Fellow musicians and other Twitter users said they were “gutted” Brown was apparently supporting “anti-vaxxer” (anti-vaccine) views.
He has not yet elaborated on the outburst, which received thousands of comments, likes and shares.
The Reverend and The Makers Twitter account posted: “I love Ian Brown so much. Bit gutted he’s tweeted that tbh”.
One of his fans wrote: “Love your music Ian but I am seriously hoping you’ve been hacked.”
Another one commented: “I wish my teen music heroes would stop turning into t***s”.
Brown’s ex-bandmate John Squire appeared to counterbalance the Ian Brown tweet with a safety warning.
He posted: “Wear a mask. stay safe. Look after yourself and others #morecambeandwise.”
But there were a number of people who tweeted their support of Brown.
One of them said: “The amount of sheeple in this thread is unreal, the bloke is speaking the truth. 99% of people didn’t wear a mask at its ‘peak’ now everyone is on the bandwagon, you are all about government compliance, get a grip man.”
Others posted “Amen” and “Amazing. God Bless”.
However he continued to be criticised by many for using his platform irresponsibly.
One person wrote: “Yeah let’s all die from preventable diseases like it’s the year 1348 [when the Black Death hit].”
DJ Dave Haslam pointed out that fellow musician Toots Hibbert, of the band Toots And The Maytals, was recently placed in intensive care in Jamaica as a result of coronavirus.
Last Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square in central London carrying anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown placards.
Piers Corbyn, the elder brother of former Labour leader Jeremy, was among 11 people told they could be fined £10,000 for organising the march and breaking coronavirus regulations.
A recent poll revealed that only 53% of Britons would be certain or very likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
King’s College London (KCL) and Ipsos Mori researchers, who polled 2,237 people between 16 and 75, blamed “damaging misperceptions” on the low uptake.