Bryan Adams Goes Off on ‘Wet Markets’ in Instagram Post
Bryan Adams is receiving a lot of criticism over an Instagram post he shared yesterday (May 11) in which he lashed out at a number of things that have been connected to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the post, Adams is seen performing an acoustic version of his hit “Cuts Like A Knife,” but the caption is what raised a lot of eyebrows.
“Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some f*cking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus,” wrote Adams.
He continued, “My message to them, other than ‘thanks a f*cking lot,’ is go vegan. To all the people missing out on our shows, I wish I could be there more than you know. It’s been great hanging out in isolation with my children and family, but I miss my other family, my band, my crew and my fans. Take care of yourselves and hope we can get the show on the road again soon. I’ll be performing a snippet from each album we were supposed to perform for the next few days.”
Per National Geographic, the COVID-19 global pandemic is believed to have originated from Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a wet market in Wuhan, China, but COVID-19’s origins have yet to be officially confirmed. In China, these wet markets are often part of a community’s culture and economy, so as a result, many are criticizing Adams’ comments as being culturally insensitive or outright racist.
Wet markets, however, are not exclusive to China. Per CBS News, there are hundreds of wet markets in the United States, including about 70 different live-animal wet markets in New York City. Since the coronavirus outbreak, they have been the target of various animal rights protests.
Adams, isn’t the first musician to comment on China’s wet markets since the coronavirus pandemic. Both Paul McCartney and Brian May have made comments to the press. McCartney said, “I really hope that this will mean the Chinese government says, ‘OK, guys, we have really got to get super hygienic around here.’ Let’s face it, it is a little bit medieval eating bats…It’s not a stupid idea, it is a very good idea. They don’t need all the people dying. And what’s it for? All these medieval practices. They just need to clean up their act.” May, who’s recently gone vegan, said, “…If you want to get deep into it, I think we should be looking again at whether we should be eating animals. That’s a central issue here, this pandemic seemed to come from people eating animals and it’s becoming more well known that eating animals is not the greatest thing for our health.”
