Morrissey says that he’d kill President Donald Trump if given the opportunity.
The former Smiths frontman made the claim during a controversial interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel, in which he also brushed aside recent claims of sexual harassment or assault made against powerful players in the entertainment and political worlds.
“If there was a button here, and if you pressed on it, Trump would die dead [sic] — would you push it or not?” the newspaper asked Morrissey.
“I would, for the safety of humanity,” Morrissey responded. “It has nothing to do with my personal opinion of his face or his family, but in the interest of humanity I would push.”
The US Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Morrissey's interview.
Morrissey went on to blame the American media for the rise of Mr Trump, whom he said is indifferent to ridicule and only interested in amassing power.
“He grabs after everything like a little child,” he said.
Morrissey also appeared to defend the likes of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, two giants in Hollywood who had been accused of sexual assault or harassment in recent months — indicating that he thought the two men were making awkward attempts at romance instead of displaying sexual aggression.
“You must be careful as far as ‘sexual harassment’ is concerned, because often it can be just a pathetic attempt at courtship,” Morrissey told The Sunday Times in a separate interview, appearing to double down on this comments to the German paper.
But, after the controversy, Morrissey lashed out at the papers for their depictions of his comments, and said during a concert in Chicago that he would not give further print interviews in the future.
“And unless you see the words form in my mouth, and then you see the words or hear the words come out of my mouth — please, if you don’t see that, I didn’t say it,” he said.
