Eric Clapton Is Refusing To Play At Venues That Require Proof Of Covid-19 Vaccination

Eric Clapton has hit back at the idea of coronavirus vaccine passports and is refusing to play at venues that enforce them.

The legendary musician said he doesn't want to perform on 'any stage where there is a discriminated audience present'.

"Following the PM's announcement...I feel honour bound to make an announcement of my own: I wish to say that I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present," he said in a statement posted onto architect, film producer and anti-vaxxer Robin Monotti Graziadei's Telegram account.

"Unless there is provision made for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show."

Clapton hasn't been shy in voicing his outrage at the lockdown and vaccination measures designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

He teamed up with Van Morrison late last year to release the anti-lockdown track 'Stand and Deliver', where they sing: "Do you wanna be a free man / Or do you wanna be a slave?"

The 'I Shot The Sheriff' singer also raged after getting the AstraZeneca vaccine back in May.

He claimed to have experienced a 'severe' reaction to the jab and wondered if he was ever going to play the guitar again.

Cases and hospitalisations continue to rise across England, despite the government deciding to drop social distancing restrictions on July 19.

To combat this trend, the UK recently mandated that all 'large crowded settings' would have to enforce checking people's vaccination statuses by the end of September.

The government's vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said this approach will hopefully ensure large parties or events won't turn into super spreader moments.

"At that point we plan to make full vaccination a condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather. Proof of a negative test will no longer be sufficient," he told Parliament.

"Any decisions will of course be subject to parliamentary scrutiny and we will ensure that appropriate exemptions for those who have genuine medical reasons of why they can't get vaccinated, and I'm clear we will always look at the evidence available and do all we can to ensure people can continue to do the things they love.

"Although there's never a perfect time to take this step, making the move today gives us the best chance of success. We're cautiously easing restrictions when we have the natural firebreak of the school holidays and when the warmer weather gives us an advantage.

"So we will move forward with caution, drawing on the defences we have built as we set out in our five-point plan two weeks ago."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Entertainment, Celebrity

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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