An Open Letter to Journalists, From Morrissey Fans

 An open letter to Journalists, from Morrissey fans

I’m writing this to say, in a not-so-gentle-way, we are tired, and we are angry.

And it’s not at Morrissey.

It’s at the press and the escalation of their slanted articles and untruths about Morrissey and us, his fans.

Journalists who lie strike again and again. Most recently, Stephen Dalton for The Times, in an article reviewing Rick Astley and The Blossoms' recent Smiths cover concert at the O2 Forum, reported that Morrissey’s website “published some withering words on Astley.” This is completely untrue, as Morrissey expressed praise for the concerts, thanking the artists involved.

The only negativity - or controversy - surrounding Rick Astley and The Blossoms was caused by a bullying online pack that repeatedly attempts to discredit and attack Morrissey and an incredibly biased press that seems intent on only reporting views that are disparaging of Morrissey, rather than those which are positive and supportive.

Alas, it doesn’t end there.

In August, the Los Angeles Times  included Morrissey in a list of musicians who are anti-vaxxers. Morrissey, as far as I’m aware, has never expressed this view regarding the pandemic, simply stating in an interview that rigid restrictions are imposed on poorer people by elites who rarely follow their own rules, a point which is hard to argue against. The publication later corrected the text, but this is yet again indicative of a press that seems to go out of their way to make antagonistic or unsupported claims about Morrissey, often without providing any evidence to back such claims up.

Unsubstantiated allegations that “Morrissey is racist” are abundant in publications like The Guardian, which pathetically resort to re-hashing and misinterpreting 30-year-old song lyrics, or chopping quotes (often related to animal welfare) completely out of context, yet they ignore the fact Morrissey works with, and has been influenced by, a number of black artists and people of colour, regularly speaks out against racially-driven police brutality and social injustices, and has adoring fans from numerous ethnic backgrounds all over the world.

And still, it doesn’t end there...

For, not only is the press misrepresenting and lying about Morrissey himself, but also us – his devoted fanbase. Cue publications consisting of one-sided arguments, only including takes like “[fans] would rather have Astley than Morrissey,” or that we are “abandoning Morrissey,” or, as a May 2019 article by Tim Jonze claimed , that we “feel so betrayed” by him. Jonze, of course, failed to mention the legions of fans who attended Morrissey’s 7 night Broadway residency earlier that month.

Shockingly - or perhaps not - earlier this year, another article reported that Morrissey was “blasted by his own fans for over-reaction to Simpsons parody.” This is an entirely biased and outlandish statement, as the vast majority of feedback I saw was from fans who were appalled by the body-shaming, slanderous, and ageist episode, feeling they had been duped by producers into watching it, as it was initially presented as something positive. Tweets used in the article, yet again, were predominantly sourced from the personal accounts of ‘blue check’ journalists for Pitchfork or the New Yorker, or podcast hosts. What’s clear is that mainstream publications rarely, if ever, provide supportive quotes from actual fans, of which there are many, leaving us completely unheard and unrepresented.

It’s an odd phenomenon – there was barely a whisper from the press about Morrissey’s record-breaking 5-night Las Vegas residency, or his headlining Chicago's Riot fest for an audience of 40,000 fans last month. No mention of the fans reaching to hold his hand, passing him letters and gifts, no mention of people from all backgrounds donning Morrissey tees and attending his gigs to show him love and see him sing in person. No mention of all the supportive messages on social media.

Morrissey fans at the Hollywood Bowl, 2019
photo by @mischievousnose Twitter

Quite frankly, I am tired of the press and their lies upon lies. As a fan, I feel completely misrepresented. Thanks to freelance writers like Fiona Dodwell, and fan bloggers like Jo Whitfield and Angie Cooke, and websites like Letters To Morrissey, we do have a voice, but the mainstream media continues to try to drown us out with uninformed, biased articles that have very little, if any, grounding in reality.

The power should be with the people – not mainstream publications like The Guardian, and NME. And we will not bow or break, and continue to stand proud as Morrissey fans – and there are many of us.

If you cannot stand this fake world, take my hand.

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