Yesterday, we talked about Bryan Adams. Like every musical performer, Adams has had to cancel shows and tours because of the pandemic. But unlike most performers, Bryan Adams is extremely angry about the coronavirus, so much so that he made a crazy statement on social media about the virus and the people who “made” the virus. Adams blasted the “f–king bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards” and folded in a message that this should convince people to “go vegan.” I was… sort of shocked by the number of vegans who were like “yeah maybe his message was kind of racist, but people should still go vegan!” This was not the moment, vegans. Anyway, Bryan Adams apologized on Instagram and made it all about (you guessed it) veganism.
Apologies to any and all that took offence to my posting yesterday. No excuse, I just wanted to have a rant about the horrible animal cruelty in these wet-markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism. I have love for all people and my thoughts are with everyone dealing with this pandemic around the world.
So… we’re not going to talk about how he said that someone (in China) “made” the virus? He’s not going to apologize for promoting that right-wing conspiracy? Oh well. Only (white) people like Bryan Adams can apologize for casual racism by basically saying “whoopsie, sorry, I just did it for veganism!” It’s also worth noting that all of the worst people are now arguing that “the libs” made Bryan Adams apologize and that his original racist, conspiratorial horsesh-t was A-OK in their book.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Oh shut up Bryan.
I volunteer at a farm sanctuary and he is doing nothing for the cause by being a loud racist ass. This is not how you change people’s minds about animal rights
Thank you for your comment.
I am a diehard animal rights activist having spent at least 20 years rescuing animals (mainly dogs). It is horrifying, absolutely horrifying, the despicable way animals are allowed to be treated. It is a stain on humanity how we treat the most vulnerable among us.
A racist tirade only serves to deflect from this problem.
I hope he’s blackballed for his unhinged, racist diatribe. Oh, and that his precious residency at the Royal Albert Hall is cancelled. As a Canadian, I disown him.
He won’t be in Canada though. CanCon will keep his music on the air and we are too “polite” do anything of substance about casual racism here.
Exactly. Feeling strongly about veganism doesn’t give you the ok to be racist. This just feels self righteous in his part, well you can’t be that great Bryan if racist comments like this come out of your mouth
Apparently racism is alive and well in Canada per my husband. This is especially true in Vancouver. Some people have a problem with Asians.
Bryan Adams – you disappoint me.
I don’t think anger is directed to Chinese people. I feel that the anger is directed at the Chinese government as more and more evidence leads the world to believe they really covered this pandemic up, silenced whistleblowers and hoarded supplies.
@Nettie you do know that these racists can’t differentiate that don’t you? That’s why they shouldn’t even go there.
Also since we are now in month three of SIP, it is no longer a China problem. It is being homegrown and bred here. NY is inundated with this issue because anus mouth thought if he can close the border to China it would be taken care of. However, all these people from Europe who came to the East got the virus and this is how we ended up here.
Do you think that a lot of these people who make these problematic statements are truly shaken to be confronted with evidence of their own racism? (See that hipster cook singling out Marie Kondo and Chrissy Teigen, Bryan Adams). I wonder if a lot of them just say what they think and don’t take the time to check their beliefs to see if it’s coming from a place of bias. Would this be considered a form of Unconscious bias, maybe?
It’s racism. Straight up.
It’s racism.
And it’s really something how people feel perfectly ok to be racist against Chinese and other Asian people. It feels like that’s one corner where casual racism that people wrongly think might be excusable or explainable is still kind of “understandable.”
It’s not understandable. It is RACISM.
They think it’s ok because asians are perceived as passive and they won’t fight back. That’s why it’s “acceptable” to these racist assholes.
Bryan Adam is such a disappointment.
Canceled, Bryan.
I don’t care what that güero says from here on out. He’s a racist b@stard & he and his little whiny vegan followers can fvck off.
Seriously.
And anyone who criticized China and the average Chinese person on the street for how their government handled things can zip it if they’re doing so from behind their computer in the United States (or Russia, for that matter). A lot of people are suffering because of their governments’ venality. It’s not the fault of Chinese people and it as he// isn’t the fault of Asian American or Pacific Islander persons.
not to mention that while, yes, China obfuscated on this issue but to think every other government in the world would have been fully transparent and avoided pandemic is BS – especially coming from Americans because we know damn well that our current administration would have done the same if not worse
You are right about the racism but I do not see him supporting the China-made-a-virus-which-got-out-of-the-lab conspiracy. His choice of words is just wrong and tonedeaf, though. I am a longtime-vegan myself and agree that this is not the time to tell anyone to “go vegan” and call meat-eaters bastards. Actually, it never is.
However, Vox released a good video about wet markets in March and it shows the problem which is hygiene. Bad hygienic conditions in food production have killed many people in many countries. Until now it was mainly a local problem, though. I remember a couple of them in Germany caused by salmonella in eggs or meat and also e.coli in sprouts. This time it happened to be a virus re-emerging and becoming a pandemic. Chinese government tried to hide the outbreak but most certainly did not spread the virus deliberately.
I think what Adams meant by someone “making the virus” is by it being a side effect of those wet markets. SARS emerged in a similar way. But yeah, he should have either kept his mouth shut or tried to get his point across without any racism. It is possible.
Nah..he said “virus making greedy bastards” which very strongly implies intention on the part of those “greedy bastards,” whoever they might be. He said what he said. The whole of it was a parroted version of conservative talking points and filled with hate. Let’s leave the talking points about the virus’ evolution and progression from animals to humans to epidemiologists, and not soften the blow when someone reveals how incredibly gullible and stupid they are.
ETA: And racist. He’s a stupid, gullible, racist for repeating this stuff without thinking critically about sources or agendas.
“Virus-making” and “greedy” in a sense that wet markets work they way they do with people running them not caring about possible effects as they just want to make money. The intention is looking the other way for profit’s sake and not to deliberately create a virus (the lab conspiracy). There is a difference.
No @Allie that is not what he said, you’re parsing his words to fit your own narrative. He said “virus making greedy bastards” which directly implies that someone intentionally created & released this virus and did so to turn a profit, which is an all too common conspiracy theory
@pottymouth pup I didn’t read it that way at all and I agree with @Allie. From a vegan standpoint, the virus has emerged, i.e. was ‘made’ by the fact that the wet markets engage in selling bush meat. This has, in turn, made it physically possible for the virus to exist.
I agree with Allie; that’s how I read his comment too. There’s a lot of money to be made in the selling of wild and exotic animals. It’s a big, dark, greedy industry and it played a part in this pandemic.
@Allie, please stop the spin.
He seems to be complaining about wet markets in general, albeit most people don’t realize that there are wet markets everywhere, not just China. And fun fact: there were no bats being sold/eaten at that market; the virus “originated” in bats and likely jumped to an animal being sold at market, which then jumped to humans.
It was probably a pangolin, which is worse than a bat. Pangolins are critically endangered. There is NOTHING that justifies eating exotic, endangered animals, and playing the race card doesn’t make eating exotic animals acceptable.
HOW we produce food matters. Overcrowded feed lots and slaughterhouses promote diseases too. So can unsanitary handling of fresh produce. We need to be aware of how we are producing food and be more vigilant. (I am a meat eater myself, not vegan).
But eating critically endangered animals? No. That is a crime against the planet.
@pottymouth
actually, I also read it exactly as Allie said, and you’re bending over backwards to interpret his words in the most offensive way possible. It is pretty clear that since he starts with “bat-eating” and “market-selling”, that he believes in the natural origins of the virus. If he believed it was lab-made, eating bats and selling them in markets would have had no relevance, so why would he begin by mentioning that context twice? Allie’s version makes a lot more sense than yours.
it seems all the spinners have come out to play…
Wet markets exists in the US too. So please it is not wholly an Asia thing. Please do not help him soften the blow of his stupid words. He meant what he said.
What makes you think he wasn’t ALSO referring to wet markets around the whole world, including the USA? He’s a vegan, they dislike ANY meat-eaters, including white Americans.
Funny how when other animal-origin deseases come about no one blames those meat eaters: Creutzfeldt-Jakob is a good example. “Those f-king cow eating, butcher selling, greedy desease making bastards” words that came out of nobody’s mouth…
Anon, the vegans and vegetarians ABSOLUTELY blamed the meat-eaters for mad cow disease (and scrapie in sheep). Vegans’ dislike of the meat industry is wide-spread, and not limited to Covid-19.
OK Krabapple. So you think his statements against a RACE isn’t problematic? Because it sure as hell is taken in this context.
@ holly hobby – Adams did not call out any race. Unlike, say, Donald Trump and his ilk, who absolutely made racist statements about Covid-19.
This is the first time he’s crossed my radar since the early 90s and I learned three things about him that will inspire me to turn the radio station when his music is played. 1. He’s a raging racist asshole. 2. He’s a food fanatic ( there is plenty of info on vegan Eating for people to be informed and make their own choice, they don’t need to be schooled/lectured/shamed into making the vegan choice. ) 3. He’s totally ignorant of science. While cruel animal conditions can encourage the spread of a virus they do not generate a virus.
Take a seat Bryan.
So blame vegetables?
Lol 😂
So Bryan has a racist melt-down because his concert at Royal Albert Hall was cancelled due to the pandemic. Here’s a guy who has several palatial homes – one in London England, another in Mustique, another in Vancouver which he uses as his private recording studio. And he’s bitching about getting a concert cancelled. He’s a f*cking gazillionaire…..
Bryan, maybe you should think about all the people who don’t have incomes now…who can’t pay their rent. Maybe you should think of all the seniors whose investments have tanked and they can’t pay their bills. Maybe you should STFU and stop hectoring people about becoming vegans and put your money where your mouth is by donating to food banks you POS.
Of course he needs income. He needs to feed all the babies he made with his employee/assistant. That is very telling that he couldn’t find someone other than an employee to start a family with.
Ummm…Bryan’s a pompous twat but he’s been married to his former assistant Alicia Grimaldi since 2009. They have two daughters. I don’t know where you get “all the babies he made with his employee/assistant” stuff and just because she was his assistant doesn’t mean he couldn’t find anyone else to father his so-called multitudinous children with. Perhaps they just fell in love.
Apologies to those who were offended… And they say Canadians know how to apologize. 😛
Yeah, it’s the horrible non-apology: I’m sorry for the people who TOOK offense, not for my GIVING the offense. It’s the other person’s fault for being offended, not for me making the statement in the first place.
Also, it’s people WHO were offended, not THAT were offended. People aren’t objects (or maybe they are to him?)
Why are Vegans always so loud about their choices? Most vegans are always telling people there a vegan ; it’s annoying…..
Just be a vegan and shut up about it.
Why are most omnivores always repeating the same BS about vegans? Because they don’t realise who actually is one since they only hear the loud, annoying ones. Most vegans I know do not even “out” themselves to omnivores because they are tired of the same old “discussions” aka being hated on.
Yes, Allie! I have met so many more obnoxious carnivores compared to vegans. Veganism is a compassionate, positive way of living that only helps our animals and environment. I have to wonder if it’s guilt that makes people hate on vegans so much.
Rachel, Bryan Adams is in the vocal vegan minority. I have several friends who are vegans and they don’t go shouting it from the rooftops. In fact the only way I found out they were vegans was when we went out to eat or I invited them for dinner, and they politely asked for a vegan meal which I was happy to provide.
There, fixed it for you.
When will we have an open and honest dialogues about the problematic connection between veganism, racism and elitism??
WHEN.
Of course he’ll come up with some lame apology. I think he should eat a bat. Every excuse under the sun. This is about,once again, money, axils resentment and who is deservesing or knows best. Until very recently, most people in the world were vegetarian/ vegan by default because meat was scarce or expensive, and it’s part of many religious beliefs. Sick of the self righteous Columbusing.
THIS. But please, even though I am myself an omnivore, don’t throw ALL vegans under the bus. This is specifically an issue with WHITE veganism. POC have been practicing veganism for millenia without being racist, gatekeeping, jerks about it.
I am so angered and disgusted that he cannot acknowledge the racism behind his comments. The obvious, screaming racism.
Then he tries to say “oh I’m just concerned about the animals.” No, um no you were not! You were angered and you took it out on PEOPLE! There is no excuse (veganism is not an “excuse” for racism!)… stop stop stop.
I’m tired of militant veganism, People who think it’s okay to say or do anything to promote their cause, not caring who they hurt. I throughly they were supposed to be all about peace and love
As the above poster pointed out: in the US I definitely see, white veganism frequently intersecting with racism, and it is very difficult for people who aren’t rich or elite (or middle class!) to even be vegan. I completely agree.
There are lots of reasons including government subsidies of meat production, poverty rates correlating with race and ethnicity due to historic and continuing disenfranchisement, and access / food deserts that impact communities of color disproportionately.
Attacking people based on “sanitation” in particular is a very old racist trope.
There are vegan / vegetarian traditions that date far back in non-European countries. It didn’t begin with white people but I feel like it has been coopted in a lot of ways. I first encountered veganism (if I should even use that term?) when I learned about Jainism for example. Dr Breeze Harper has written about how racism impacts white veganism and how her experience as a Black woman has been in veganism, I admire her work a lot.
In the U.S. we tend to associate veganism with affluent white people. I admit that I did too. However, it isn’t necessarily a true reflection of vegans. Sure, the majority of vegans in the U.S. are probably white, but this has more to do with white people making up the majority of the American population overall.
According to a recent Gallup poll, when you break it down by race, African Americans actually have the highest rates of veganism. About 7% of AA’s identified as vegans, compared to 3% of the population overall. The Washington Post did an interesting article about the rise of veganism in the black community.
Some other interesting stats: POC are 3 times as likely to identify as vegetarians as white people in the U.S.
People making under $30k were twice as likely to identify as vegan or vegetarian than people making over $75k.
Of course this is one poll and it may not be completely accurate, but I do believe that veganism in America is way more diverse (racially and economically) than most of the mainstream media will have you believe.
There is indeed a lot of racism and elitism in vegan activist groups. And thus, the less privileged vegan activists are not always heard. Dr. Breeze Harper is spot on about that.
Animals that are raised for food are the most abused beings in the world and as an animal rights activist myself I understand the anger and frustration. That includes these exotic wet markets in Asia and these awful factory farms here in the US. This is no excuse for racism in anyway. But this virus that most likely jumped from an exotic animal to a highly populated area is literally going to kill millions globally (especially in countries with little access to clean water and sanitation) and has disrupted lives of nearly every person. We should ALL be demanding change in the food supply and rethinking how and what we consume to the best of our abilities both locally and globally.
I agree.
But that conversation is several continents away from what Adams did and is doing, or the intentions of anyone who uses dog whistles like “bat-eating” or, at this particular point in the zeitgeist, “wet markets.” One cannot co-opt poisonous trees and try to make them bear worthwhile fruit; one cannot use outrage couched in racism or the rise of Sinophobia to lay the groundwork for greater, worthwhile change.
The conversations you mention are happening. But personally, as someone who agrees with you, I think it’s a mistake to bring them anywhere near these trainwrecks. Because it’s too possible that it will be interpreted as trying to excuse in any sense rhetoric which is also putting human lives at stake — lives that are already disproportionately affected by all the usual global ills, including this virus.
You know it’s true, everything I do, I do it for root (vegetables).
GMAFB
He strikes me as a person that will hate anyone that doesn’t think like him.
Don’t be too hard on the guy, he doesn’t get enough protein in his diet, so he suffers from a condition many vegans have…smug judgmental douchism. One of the common symptoms is their inability to realize that if you have to take iron supplements, then your diet isn’t natural.
Me: “I had a really yummy burger…”
Everyone: “Whhhaaaaattt but you are vegan!!!”
Me: “Yeah a vegan burger…”
Everyone: “God why do vegans always make a point about telling you they are vegan… so sanctimonious!!”
I can’t even tell you how often this exchange occurs lol.
Having said that: Bryan Adams is racist af.
Factory farming and unhygenic conditions breed diseases throughout the world.