The Eric Clapton we loved, whose new album is as good as anything he’s ever done, is dead to us, basically.
Clapton has doubled down on his anti-vaccine madness and thrown in with Robert K. Kennedy, Jr. Kennedy, a misery to his family– they’ve all criticized him– maintains a loud anti-vaccine campaign himself.
Despite suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, Kennedy is anti-public health. His dead uncle, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who fought for decades for universal health insurance, must be throwing up in heaven.
Clapton has now allowed himself to be interviewed by Kennedy and featured on his website. Clapton tells Kennedy that criticism of what he’s doing is falling on deaf ears:
“In fact, I felt more support as a result of this than I ever did before about anything — and I was always quite private about my beliefs and concerns, but the minute I got public with this and just told the truth — my truth, I suppose you could say — I could see really clearly what was real, genuine enthusiasm and relief and comfort from people that were feeling the same way.”
Luckily, Clapton’s family does not agree with his position, which has included recording anti-vax, anti-lockdown music with Van Morrison, declaring that he won’t play venues with vaccine mandates, and receiving a very negative report from Rolling Stone, which used to idolize him.
He tells Kennedy, who I’m convinced has an undiagnosed brain tumor: “I’ve got teenage girls and an older girl who’s in her thirties, and they’ve all had to kind of give me leeway because I haven’t been able to convince any of them. I think my wife is now seeing it the same way as me, but most of them, they’ve always thought I’m a crackpot anyway, because I do things that are extremely unusual on any kind of level.”
So, it’s over. I loved Clapton’s music. “Layla” is very special to me. But people crack as they get older. Eric Clapton had a hideous drug problem. Who knows how this has affected him? But what he’s doing now is beyond the pale. As for Kennedy, please, don’t get me started.
