John Lydon, former Sex Pistols singer and current Public Image Ltd. bandleader, is often in the news for weird reasons. When he announced that he was a Trump supporter, punks everywhere were confused and disillusioned. He has once again sent a wave of bafflement through the community after paying respects to the Queen after she passed yesterday, September 8, and social media erupted with reactions.
In a statement on his website, he wrote, “Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth II. Send her victorious.” He sent out a tweet with that caption as well, and it received as many quote-tweets as retweets, with people expressing their confusion.
Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth II.
Send her victorious.
From all at https://t.co/vK2Du0ZzDS pic.twitter.com/kq4M6WfeML
— John Lydon Official (@lydonofficial) September 9, 2022
Sex Pistols are known best for their classic album Never Mind The Bullocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols, which was their only studio LP but changed the direction of punk music and influenced the following generations of bands to come. It crashed with heavy riffs and fast rhythms while Lydon — who called himself Johnny Rotten — yelped anti-establishment quips: “God save the queen / The fascist regime / They made you a moron / A potential H bomb,” he spewed on “God Save The Queen.” “God save the queen / She’s not a human being / and There’s no future / And England’s dreaming.”
Many are accusing him of being a sellout, others are complaining that he’s old, and some say he was never a true punk to begin with. Check out some reactions below.
A true expert weighs in. https://t.co/4nclHESLnV
— Tom Watson (@tomwatson) September 9, 2022
John Lydon then – “God Save The Queen / she ain’t no human being…”
John Lydon now – “But that’s a human being and I would sorely miss her as a human being on planet Earth.”
More like Anarchy in the AARP
— Sh(Au)n (@ShaunMGold) September 9, 2022
OLD SELL OUT Johnny "Rotten" Lydon of the Sex Pistols is praising the Queen Elizazbeth. The one he spend his career bashing. He called her the fascist regime. #SexPistols #JohnnyLydon #SellOut #Punk
I don't dislike her but Lydon sure did act like he did. pic.twitter.com/sk3YkxuItv— ⚔️Midnight Angel🆓💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇲 (@SweetDanger69) September 9, 2022
So funny that John Lydon had some deep, lizard part of his cockney brain that made him really respect the Queen after he reached 50.
— Shrieking Tinman (@phased_bemused) September 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/KevBeirne/status/1568307362808700930
https://twitter.com/heimaeyita/status/1568237984197001218