Former Smiths frontman Morrissey has made a career out of saying provocative things, but that doesn't mean his more outrageous statements can't get people riled every now and then — as Garbage singer Shirley Manson recently proved when she took him to task for making disparaging remarks about people who've accused actor Kevin Spacey and ex-Miramax exec Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault.

As previously reported, Morrissey appeared to shrug off the growing scandals around both men in a recent interview, suggesting that the definition of sexual misconduct has grown too broad — and intimating that the men and women affected by Spacey and Weinstein's actions should have known what they were getting themselves into.

"Anyone who has ever said to someone else, ‘I like you,’ is suddenly being charged with sexual harassment. You have to put these things into the right relations. If I can not tell anyone that I like him, how would they ever know?" mused Morrissey. "People know exactly what's going on. And they play along. Afterwards, they feel embarrassed or disliked. And then they turn it around and say, ‘I was attacked, I was surprised…’ But if everything went well, and if it had given them a great career, they would not talk about it."

Morrissey also repeatedly disavowed rape or sexual assault of any kind, but the overall tenor of his remarks left a lot of people taken aback — including Manson, who took to Twitter to let everyone know exactly how she felt. Saying she thought he'd "lost the f---ing plot," Manson added, "Weinstein + Spacey unfairly attacked? For rape, sexual abuse+coercion etc. F--- U Morrissey! F--- YOU."

Whether or not Morrissey will deign to respond remains to be seen, but Manson is already in good company. The Independent notes there's been a fairly widespread backlash against the singer's comments in the arts community, with negative responses running from the bluntly profane to the simply sad. Comedian Chris Gethard offered one of the more poignant takes, wondering how "so much of what Morrissey sings is so beautiful yet so much of what he says is so ugly."

 

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