Over the course of his 52 years, Morrissey has been many things: Reuniter of the New York Dolls, Sad Person Royalty, Subject of FBI Investigation After Anti-Bush Comments. But there is one thing Steven Patrick Morrissey wants you to know that he is not: a racist. For many years, the Smiths frontman has been a professional courter of controversy, making seemingly off-the-cuff comments that run the gamut from the offensive to the misconstrued and are tirelessly snapped up by journalists looking for a juicy lede. But now one magazine in particular has roused the jangly sadman’s ire, and Morrissey’s not gonna take it.
Perhaps you remember that infamous 2007 NME interview where Morrissey made certain comments about the British identity and culture fading as a result of immigration. Or perhaps you don’t want to remember — after all, these are just the sort of remarks that Morrissey fans try to forget/rationalize away and journalists love to run away with. Whatever he might have meant at the time, the legend steadfastly denies that his comments are indicative of racial prejudice. And indeed, in a nice bit of poetic justice/damage control, when NME pulled its sponsorship from London’s Love Music Hate Racism concert in 2008 and the famed celebration of all things harmonious teetered on the brink of financial collapse, Moz personally ponied up £75,000 to keep the event going.
But still the rumors swirl. So Morrissey took a libel case to the courts this month. While Moz maintains that NME twisted his words to make him look like a racist jerkoff, the magazine maintains that the case should be thrown out, due to the lengthy period of time between the inflammatory article’s publication and the court case. According to The Quietus, Mr. Justice Tugendhat of England’s high court wrote, “Overall, in my judgment a proper balance between the Article 10 right of freedom of expression of [NME magazine] and Mr Morrissey’s right to the protection of his individual reputation requires, in the circumstances of this case, that the action be permitted to proceed.” So, in Moz vs. NME Round 34 (or whatever this is), it looks like this point goes to the erstwhile Smiths frontman. Whether Morrissey or NME wins the final challenge, however, remains to be seen. The case will go to trial in 2012.
• Morrissey: http://www.itsmorrisseysworld.com
