Eric Clapton refuses to play at venues that require vaccination proof

Musician Eric Clapton says helium volition not play astatine immoderate venue that requires attendees to supply impervious of vaccination in his latest effort to reason COVID-19 wellness precautions.

Clapton, 76, says helium volition not execute connected “any signifier wherever determination is simply a discriminated assemblage present,” according to a connection helium released connected Telegram.

“Unless determination is proviso made for each radical to attend, I reserve the close to cancel the show,” helium said.

Clapton was straight responding to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who announced this week that vaccine passports volition beryllium required astatine euphony venues crossed the state by precocious September.

Clapton released his announcement done Robin Monotti, an Italian designer and COVID-19 conspiracy theorist who has shared Clapton’s statements successful the past.

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The connection besides included a nexus to Stand and Deliver, the anti-lockdown opus that Clapton wrote and performed with Van Morrison precocious past year. The opus includes lyrics specified as: “Do you wanna beryllium a escaped man, oregon bash you wanna beryllium a slave?” and “Is this a sovereign nation, oregon conscionable a constabulary state?”

Variety and the Los Angeles Times deemed the opus to beryllium among the worst of 2020.

Clapton has released respective anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown songs since the pandemic began, with each proceeds from his income going to struggling musicians.

The instrumentalist has said that helium had a “severe” antagonistic acquisition aft receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, and that helium feared it would forestall him from playing the guitar.

Clapton is not scheduled to play successful the United Kingdom until May of adjacent year. He has 8 U.S. dates scheduled for September, with stops successful Texas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Clapton’s typical did not instantly respond to respective outlets’ requests for comment.

— With files from Reuters