Eric Clapton refuses to play in venues that ‘discriminate’ by demanding proof of COVID vaccine

English musician and conspiracy theorist Eric Clapton announced on Wednesday that he would no longer perform in venues requiring participants to show proof of vaccination. The announcement comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tenure that “vaccine passports” are required to enter nightclubs and venues by the end of September.

In Clapton’s statement, he refuses to perform “any scene where there is a discriminated audience”.

“Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday, July 19, 2021, I feel bound by the honor of making my own announcement,” Clapton said. “I want to say that I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience. Unless there are arrangements for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show. ”

Along with his statement, he also re-shared a link to his anti-COVID lockdown musical collaboration with Van Morrison, “Stand and Deliver,” in which the artists sing, “Do you want to be a free man / Or do you want to be a slave?”

It wouldn’t be the first time that basic public health precautions have been misleading and offensive to equate slavery or other devastating human tragedies throughout history. Here in the United States, earlier this year, United States Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene fueled controversy even within her own party when she compared passports and vaccine requirements to the Holocaust.

Clapton’s latest engagement comes after the three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee spent most of the pandemic condemning basic precautions to protect people against COVID, first criticizing lockdowns instituted around the world. After being vaccinated, Clapton helped stoke fear and vaccine conspiracy theories by recounting negative experiences with the AstraZeneca shot on social media, and suggesting that the side effects had been so “severe” that ‘he wasn’t sure he could play guitar again. .

Fortunately for us, that didn’t turn out to be the case, and Clapton still does – but not for places that “discriminate” against the unvaccinated.

To be clear, contrary to Clapton’s claims of the vaccine’s long-term “dangers”, research has shown that side effects often end within the first few days after vaccination, and the overwhelming majority of new COVID cases occur. found among unvaccinated populations.

Either way, Clapton’s next UK shows aren’t scheduled until May of next year, Rolling Stone reports. However, he has several planned across North America in September.