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Bryan Adams has apologised for his comments blaming “bat-eating” people for causing coronavirus.
The 60-year-old singer was accused of racism after sharing an expletive-filled Instagram post on Tuesday - the day he was due to begin playing a string of dates at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
The vegan star faced a backlash after blaming the cancelled gigs on “some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards”.
On Tuesday evening, the Canadian star apologised to “all that took offence” to the post, saying his intention had been to promote veganism.
He said: “No excuse, I just wanted to have a rant about the horrible animal cruelty in these wet markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism.
“I have love for all people and my thoughts are with everyone dealing with this pandemic around the world.”
The president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice claimed the Summer Of 69 singer’s original comments would intensify “racist hatred against Chinese”.
“This is so irresponsible,” Amy Go told Canada’s CBC News.
However, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), which had recently featured an interview with the singer on its website, leaped to his defence.
In a statement to Billboard, the animal rights organisation’s senior VP Dan Mathews said: “Bryan Adams echoes the frustrations of millions of people who are outraged that the violent meat trade has once again been allowed to devastate human health.
“Wet markets and disease-ridden slaughterhouses around the world are superhighways for contagion and must be closed now. Despite conspiracy theories, credible experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Jane Goodall, the World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have repeatedly warned about the hazards to human health when animals are captured, confined and killed.
“Humans brought this pandemic upon themselves through their addiction to meat, and the surest way to prevent future outbreaks is to stop supporting slaughter by going vegan.”
While researchers do know that Covid-19 originated in China, they still have many questions about exactly how it emerged. Here’s a full primer on what we actually know.