Eric Clapton has been no stranger to headlines lately due to his stances against various coronavirus pandemic measures, from lockdowns to vaccine mandates. However, he seems to have taken issue with the media reaction to, and coverage of, his controversial stances.
Clapton recently chatted with noted anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for his website The Defender. Clapton said, in regards to the media coverage on his comments, he “…didn’t even know who these people were” and was not sure why the media was “picking on” him.
“I’ve found people a bit like me, but it’s been difficult in the last couple of years, especially with, you know, mainstream media turning,” said Clapton. “I couldn’t see what was so dangerous about [my comments] or risky.”
He would add, “When I realized that there was a parting of the ways, it only made me determined. To come up to date with the new Rolling Stone kind of slur campaign, it becomes a compliment when it’s coming from certain areas of the media. It’s just an affirmation to me that I’ve been doing the right thing.”
Rolling Stone recently published a feature on Clapton where they delved into his pandemic stances as well as his infamous 1976 rant at a show in Birmingham, England where he made numerous racist remarks while visible drunk. Clapton has also been the subject of features by The New York Times and The Washington Post due to his pandemic comments.