Has Bryan Adams Gone Batty?
Inflammatory tweet from Canadian singer prompts some to proclaim, "I liked Corey Hart better anyways!"
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As Canadians, we are generally believed to be unfailingly polite, and our good humor and manners are often the stuff of both jokes and legend. That may have now changed thanks to Canadian icon #BryanAdams, who was to have begun a three-night stint at London, England's #RoyalAlbertHall on May 11, 2020.
"CUTS LIKE A KNIFE," Adams' Instagram post began. "A song by me. Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some [expletive] bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus. My message to them other than “thanks a [expletive] lot” is go vegan."
For those who might be unaware, a wet market is a market where fresh meats, and sometimes live animals, are sold. If live animals are sold at a wet market, the animal is slaughtered by the vendor immediately upon purchase by the customer. There is an ongoing investigation about whether a wet market played a role in the transmission of COVID-19, as wet markets can occasionally be linked to zoonotic diseases. That investigation is ongoing.
The backlash against Adams was swift and sharp.
According to CBC.ca, Amy Go, president of the Chinese National Council for Social Justice, immediately denounced Adams' rant as racist.
"People look up to public figures. He is seen as an idol by many," Go said. "It justifies this racist hatred against Chinese.… This is so irresponsible and just so, so, so, so racist."
There have been reports of Sinophobia - hatred against those who appeared to be or are of Chinese or Asian descent - since the pandemic began. BBC reported in February 2020 that accounts of Sinophobia had grown since COVID-19 started making its way around the world. There are reports that Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Indonesia have all lobbied for Chinese nationals to be barred from entering their countries, and even in Toronto, Canada, parents demanded that a school district keep children of a family that had recently returned from China out of classes for 17 days, according to New York Times.
Certainly, Adams' post - which is still on Instagram - is not in keeping with the generally clean-cut image that Canada is known for. The country's generally welcoming attitude has been easily documented and even has had a hit musical written and performed because of how kind Canadians tend to be.
While Adams and his representatives have remained silent thus far, those in social media land have not. #BryanAdams has been trending on Twitter and his initial Instagram post has received nearly 132,000 views as of this writing.
"Anybody have ‘bryan adams (sic) racist meltdown’ in the 2020-is-a-hot-mess pool?" asked Twitter user @RaxKingIsDead.
"Will be looking for @cbcradioq to full (sic) address Bryan Adams racist rant," tweeted @bethmorr2. "Failure to do anything less than outright condemnation is unacceptable. We are watching..."
@KatiePhang took a somewhat more humorous approach.
"Well...I didn’t have #BryanAdams being a screaming racist on my 2020 #StopTheMadness Bingo card..." she tweeted.
There have also been those who have argued that Adams' rant was actually a call to go vegan. Adams has been a devout vegan for several years, and given his statement about needing to "go vegan" at the end of his diatribe, it is possible that his lengthy post was not a result of racism but a misguided attempt to encourage people to undertake a vegetarian lifestyle.
Regardless of why, exactly, Adams posted what he did on Instagram, it remains clear that his rant will likely be considered reckless.
About the Creator
Christina St-Jean
I'm a high school English and French teacher who trains in the martial arts and works towards continuous self-improvement.
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