Morrissey targeted by ‘Baby Reindeer-style stalker'
The former Smiths frontman has hired lawyers and privacy specialists to fight what has been described as a 'decades-long campaign of fraud, disinformation and defamation'.
Investigators at online privacy firm Web Sheriff said Morrissey had been targeted in an 'orchestrated and malicious' manner by the so-called stalker, who they say has been spreading disinformation about him since the 1990s.
They accused the person responsible of harassing Morrissey by creating fake websites and impersonating the 65-year-old singer on social media.
The campaign was allegedly aimed at associating the Manchester-born singer with 'racist and far-Right ideology', which they said was defamatory.
Web Sheriff said: 'The emerging data suggests a sophisticated attempt to associate the artist with false narratives designed to defame him and distort his characteristically enigmatic musings.
'The scale of the manipulation is one of the worst and most malicious ever seen by the team.'
A source close to Morrissey compared the case to Baby Reindeer, the wildly popular Netflix series based on the real-life story of comedian Richard Gadd's stalker.
One woman has already been identified and the police have been alerted to the case. Lawyers have also issued cease-and-desist letters to others suspected of instigating online abuse.
The harassment relates in part to Morrissey Solo, an online forum for fans of the Suedehead singer.
The site was described in one internal report, seen by The Telegraph, as a 'festering ground for far-Right propaganda, cloaked in the language of fandom'.
Morrissey, who does not own a smartphone and has a minimal online presence, has previously drawn criticism for his political views.
He expressed support for the now-defunct far-Right For Britain movement and wore the party's badge during a performance on the Jimmy Fallon show in 2019.
The singer Billy Bragg then accused Morrissey of spreading a 'white supremacist' video that argued the British establishment was using rapper Stormzy to spread multiculturalism at the expense of white culture.
This led to posters promoting the Manchester-born singer's new album in 2019 being removed from train stations in Merseyside, while the world's oldest record store, Cardiff's Spillers, banned sales of his records. At the time, he claimed that he was the victim of an 'inexhaustible hate campaign'.
Morrissey has said it is 'ludicrous' to describe his politics as far-Right, writing in 2023: 'Although the Left changed and deserted me many years ago, I am most certainly not far-Right, and I have not ever met anyone who claims to be far-Right.
'My politics are straightforward: I recognise realities.'
In an interview with The Telegraph last year, he said: 'We are still in the grip of idiot culture, it's everywhere you look. Naturally, I'm one of the first to be gagged since my entire life has relied on free speech.'
Allies of the singer described him as 'apolitical' and a 'pacifist' – pointing to his vocal support of vegetarianism and animal rights.
John Giacobbi, chief executive of Web Sheriff, whose clients have included Michael Jackson, Prince and Adele, said: 'For far too long, the 'websphere' surrounding Morrissey has been full of misinformation and disinformation, the levels of which even your average dictator would be proud of. The reputational damage cannot be fully calculated.'
A lawyer for Morrissey said: 'The process of pursuing this serious matter both through engagement with the authorities, including the police, and in legal action through our office, has commenced. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to comment beyond that at this early stage.'
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