
Rod Stewart branded ‘grotesque' amid support for Reform UK
In an interview with The Times, Sir Rod showed his support for Reform UK, sharing: 'I've read about (Sir Keir) Starmer cutting off the fishing in Scotland and giving it back to the EU. That hasn't made him popular.
'We're fed up with the Tories. We've got to give Farage a chance. He's coming across well. Nigel? What options have we got?
'Starmer's all about getting us out of Brexit and I don't know how he's going to do that. Still, the country will survive. It could be worse. We could be in the Gaza Strip.'
A post shared by Sir Rod Stewart (@sirrodstewart)
Sir Rod's comments come ahead of his Glastonbury Legends set on Sunday, June 29 and has sparked debate amongst his fans on social media.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one fan of Sir Rod wrote: 'To agree that Farage needs a chance is grotesque.'
Another comment on X read: 'Stupid thing to say' as a third wrote: 'Rod Stewart has come out for Farage? Oh mate.'
One more X user said they disagree with Sir Rod's comments but still respect the singer: 'No not giving Farage a chance, but respect what Rod Stewart has done and his career.'
A post shared by The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes)
In the interview with The Times, Sir Rod admitted that his wealth ensures 'a lot of it doesn't really touch me'.
Insisting that he is not out of touch, and expressed his support for Ukraine, criticising US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance for their treatment of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky on his visit to the White House, and Gaza.
Recommended Reading
Rod Stewart says country should 'give Farage a chance'
Sir Rod Stewart promises 'sexy' show for Glastonbury
Rod Stewart says his 'days are numbered' amid health ...
'It's depressing, what's going on in the Gaza Strip,' he said. 'Netanyahu doesn't realise that this is what happened to his people under the Nazis: total annihilation. And Trump is going to turn the Gaza Strip into Miami?'
Stewart said a prolonged bout of flu, which forced him to cancel five shows in the US, nearly forced him to withdraw from a Glastonbury appearance he described to ITV as his 'World Cup final'.
He confirmed he will be joined at Glastonbury by former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood, Simply Red's Mick Hucknall and Lulu, as well as performing the song Powderfinger by Saturday headliner Neil Young.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Wales Online
23 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Police examining Glastonbury performances labelled ‘hateful' and ‘grotesque'
Police examining Glastonbury performances labelled 'hateful' and 'grotesque' In a post on social media, Avon and Somerset Police said: "We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon (Image: PA ) Police continue to examine videos of comments made by acts Bob Vylan and Kneecap at Glastonbury as the festival enters its third day. Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, on Saturday led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of: "Free, free Palestine" and: "Death, death to the IDF", before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans "start a riot" outside his bandmate's upcoming court appearance. In a post on social media, Avon and Somerset Police said: "We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon. "Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation." Reacting on social media, the Israeli Embassy said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival". A statement on X said: "Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy. But when speech crosses into incitement, hatred, and advocacy of ethnic cleansing, it must be called out-especially when amplified by public figures on prominent platforms. Article continues below "Chants such as 'Death to the IDF,' and 'From the river to the sea' are slogans that advocate for the dismantling of the State of Israel and implicitly call for the elimination of Jewish self-determination. When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence. "We call on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce this rhetoric and reject of all forms of hatred." Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes "grotesque", writing on X: "Glorifying violence against Jews isn't edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked. "The cultural establishment needs to wake up to the fact this isn't protest, it's incitement. "Less than 2 years ago, hundreds were raped and murdered at a music festival. It's not just the act but the gormless people clapping along and cheering. People with no idea what real terror is. "They don't understand the evil ideology they're amplifying – and they don't care." A BBC spokesperson said: "Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive. During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand." Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan's performance, a Government spokesperson said. They added: "We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. "The Culture Secretary has spoken to the BBC director general to seek an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance, and welcomes the decision not to re-broadcast it on BBC iPlayer." Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. In reference to his bandmate's upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would "start a riot outside the courts", before clarifying: "No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine." In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be "appropriate". During the performance, Caireallain said: "The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer." He also said a "big thank you to the Eavis family" and said "they stood strong" amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up. O hAnnaidh, 27, wore a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava as well as a T-shirt that said: "We are all Palestine Action", in reference to the soon-to-be banned campaign group. News broadcasts criticising the hip hop trio played from the sound system before they walked onto the stage were booed by the Glastonbury Festival audience. The trio opened with the song Better Way To Live from their 2024 album Fine Art and also performed tracks including Get Your Brits Out and Hood. Access to the area around the West Holts Stage was closed around 45 minutes before their performance after groups of fans arrived to form a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags. Earlier on Saturday, the BBC confirmed they would not be live-streaming the set but said the performance is likely to be made available on-demand later. O hAnnaidh was charged with allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, while saying "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" at a gig in November last year. On June 18, the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates O Caireallain and O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts. He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20. Saturday night's Pyramid Stage headliner, Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts, opened with the song Sugar Mountain, with Young saying "thank you folks" to the crowd as the song ended. The set list, drawing heavily from live album Live Rust, included songs Be The Rain, When You Dance I Can Really Love, Cinnamon Girl and Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black), with lyrics that reference Johnny Rotten, the stage name of Sex Pistols's John Lydon. Charli XCX's performance on the Other Stage saw US singer Gracie Abrams perform the viral Apple dance. As the song began, the British pop star said: "Who the f*** is gonna be Apple girl, Glastonbury?" while holding what appeared to be a glass of wine. The 32-year-old played her Partygirl set at Glastonbury Festival last year, but this time the singer performed on a much bigger stage amid a year that has seen her pick up a slew of awards. Elsewhere at the festival, Haim performed as the surprise act on the Park Stage at 7.30pm, while on the Pyramid Stage, Pulp were revealed to be Patchwork with the Sheffield-formed Britpop band paying homage to their breakthrough 1995 stand-in headline set during the performance. Performing in the coveted Sunday legends slot this year is Sir Rod Stewart, who previously said he will be joined by his former Faces band member Ronnie Wood, as well as other guests. Article continues below Sir Rod's performance will come after he postponed a string of concerts in the US, due to take place this month, while he recovered from flu. US singer Olivia Rodrigo takes the final Sunday slot after opening the British Summer Time Hyde Park concert series on Friday. The BBC is providing livestreams of the five main stages: Pyramid, Other, West Holts, Woodsies and The Park.


Wales Online
23 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Labour says BBC 'have questions to answer' after 'appalling' Glastonbury scenes
Labour says BBC 'have questions to answer' after 'appalling' Glastonbury scenes Rapper Bobby Vylan led crowds in chants of "Free, free Palestine" and "Death, death to the IDF", before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans "start a riot" at his bandmate's forthcoming court appearance General view of the crowd at the main stage at Glastonbury Festival 2025 (Image: WireImage ) Wes Streeting has said chants of "death" to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) at Glastonbury were "appalling" and that the BBC and festival have "questions to answer". Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, on Saturday led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of "Free, free Palestine" and "Death, death to the IDF", before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans "start a riot" at his bandmate's forthcoming court appearance. As police examine videos of their comments, Mr Streeting told Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: "I thought it's appalling, to be honest, and I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens." The Health Secretary said what people should be talking about in the context of Israel and Gaza is the humanitarian catastrophe and the fact that Israeli settlers attacked a Christian village this week. He added: "The fact that we saw that chant at a music festival, when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive, whether it's a Palestinian or an Israeli, whether it's a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim, all life is precious. "All life is sacred. And I find it pretty revolting we've got to a state in this conflict where you're supposed to sort of cheer on one side or the other like it's a football team." Article continues below Asked if the BBC should have cut the live feed, he said the broadcaster has questions to answer, but that he did not know what the editorial and operational "challenges" are of taking such action. Avon and Somerset Police said video evidence would be assessed by officers "to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation". On social media, the Israeli Embassy said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival". Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes "grotesque", writing on X: "Glorifying violence against Jews isn't edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked." A BBC spokesperson said: "Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive. "During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand." Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan's performance, a Government spokesperson said. Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. In reference to his bandmate's forthcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would "start a riot outside the courts", before clarifying: "No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine". Article continues below In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be "appropriate". During the performance, Caireallain said: "The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer." He also said a "big thank you to the Eavis family" and said "they stood strong" amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up.


Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Sir Ian McKellen holds back tears during touching moment from Glastonbury crowd after his surprise performance
Sir Ian McKellen held back tears whilst on stage at Glastonbury on Saturday night. The 86-year-old actor performed alongside the Scissor Sisters delivering his legendary monologue from their 2010 hit Invisible Light. Following the performance, a video was captured of McKellen backstage hearing the crowds chanting. After someone close to him clarified they were chanting his name, the actor became clearly choked up at the appreciation and covered his face with his hands. Many fans immediately posted on socials, including X, formally known as Twitter, to show their praise to Scissor Sisters and McKellen. One fan penned: 'Ian McKellen showing up to perform with Scissor Sisters might have been THE highlight of the day'. Another wrote: 'Sir Ian McKellen doing the Invisible Light monologue during Scissor Sisters set at Glastonbury! MAJOR MOMENT, goosebumps all over.' Throughout the performance McKellen could be seen dancing along with the band in a white t-shirt and white trousers whilst the crowd went crazy for the set. Whilst backstage McKellen kept wam by wearing a long lined Casablanca coat with a green and white pattern covering the material. The actor famously known for his portrayal as Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings franchise, surprised crowds last month when the Scissor Sisters also performed at the London O2 area. This week has seen thousands of revellers descended on Worthy Farm as Glastonbury Festival 2025 kicked off on Wednesday - with this year's event already shaping up to be one of the most iconic yet. Headlining the Pyramid Stage on Friday night were The 1975, making their debut in the coveted top slot. However, Saturday saw Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts take to the Pyramid Stage but with sparse crowds, following sets from the likes of RAYE, Patchwork - who were revealed to be Pulp, John Fogerty, The Script, Brandi Carlile and Kaiser Chiefs. Many fans immediately posted on socials, including X, formally known as Twitter, to show their praise to Scissor Sisters and McKellen Pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo will close out the festival in style on Sunday night, while Rod Stewart is set to make his long-awaited Glastonbury debut in the beloved Sunday Legends slot. Other major acts lighting up the weekend include Wolf Alice and The Prodigy, who are set to headline the Other Stage on Sunday. Festivalgoers have been soaking up the sunshine, with dazzling outfits, mud-splattered boots, and round-the-clock music creating the signature Glasto magic. With surprises, special guests, and unforgettable moments still to come, Glastonbury 2025 is already cementing its place in the festival's legendary history. Glastonbury Festival 2025 runs from Wednesday, June 25 to Sunday, June 29, with five days of music, mayhem and star-studded performances across Worthy Farm.