[imagesource: Bryan Adams/Instagram]

When it comes to veganism, there’s much to commend.

It’s a lifestyle choice that has a minimal impact on the environment, and you can’t help admiring the fortitude of someone who commits to life without bacon and cheese.

Then there’s the other side.

It can get a little preachy, like it did when Joaquin Phoenix went off during his Oscars speech. He does, however, get props for commitment. The man rescued a cow from a slaughterhouse less than 48 hours later.

Moving on to another celebrity vegan, Bryan Adams, who was forced to apologise after backlash from fans and non-fans alike when he posted a controversial statement related to COVID-19 on Instagram.

Before we jump to Variety for a closer look at Adams’ apology, let’s check out the post. If you’re keen to see the original post, you can head here, but if Adams wises up in the next few days, the video and its caption won’t be up for much longer. In the interim, Adams has turned the comments off, so as to avoid criticism (I assume).

Someone did post it to YouTube so it will be on the broader internet forever:

A screenshot of the caption from Instagram so that you can really take it in:

I’m sure all the vegans out there are thrilled that he’s representing them in this way.

Some commentators found his “bat-eating” remark or the general tone of the post to be “dog whistling” for anti-Chinese racism. Amy Go, president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, was among them, telling CBC News that Adams’ remarks would foster “racist hatred against the Chinese.”

Now comes the apology, also posted to Instagram, complete with a Les Miserables close up of his face while he sings ‘Into The Fire’.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

INTO THE FIRE. Title track from the same album. Apologies to any and all that took offence to my posting yesterday. 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. Here’s the appropriately titled song that would have been performed tonight at the @royalalberthall . #bryanadamsintothefire #songsfromisolation #covid19 #banwetmarkets #govegan

A post shared by Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) on May 12, 2020 at 7:53am PDT

The apology didn’t do much to paint him in a better light, reflected in the comments on social media.

Some conservatives said he shouldn’t have apologized, some liberals complained that he didn’t really apologize, and progressive reaction was split between anti-racism and anti-carnivore camps. The Star, the largest news outlet in Adams’ native Canada, said that he was not racist but “screwed up” and saw his comments as “harmful because they gave ignorant ammo to haters.” But PETA, which had recently featured an interview with Adams on its website, leaped to his defense.

PETA released a statement supporting Adams:

“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,” said PETA senior VP Dan Mathews. “‘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.”

It’s worth noting that the theory that the virus can be traced back to the consumption of specific animals is not conclusive, so latching on to this idea to advance the vegan agenda is dangerous.

Shame on you, Bryan.

Think of all the mothers who used to swoon over you at Kirstenbosch every summer – what have you done?

[source:variety]