Imagine, if you will, an abrupt backstage sparring session between Morrissey and Tori Amos.
Vicious epigrams. Unbridled trills that cut right to the bone. Hurdled gladioli. Dark rumination. Pliés. Hurtful bon mots, thrown hither and yon with little to no regard for people’s feelings. Plaintiveness. Dismissive hand gestures.
Frankly, we think things would get gritty.
Related: Morrissey Denies That He’s Gay, Claims He’s A “Humasexual”
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In the following Pitchfork clip, Amos alludes to one such altercation which apparently occurred back stage, leading Morrissey and Amos to rub each other very much the wrong way.
What to make of this?
A bit vague, no?
For more details, we direct you to this 2005 thread from Morrissey-Solo.
Amos has apparently discussed this incident before at one of her shows:
JonBcn writes:
Tori Amos had some strong words about Morrissey last night at her Manchester show. On this tour she’s been doing a pair of covers each night, requested by fans on her website. Usually they have a local theme, so many people had evidently requested a Moz song for Manchester.
She said she would play a song by a local act, but that it wasn’t Morrissey, which elicited some sighs from the audience. She said she had good reason not to, but didn’t want to be drawn into it. One fan asked her why she didn’t like him so eventually she told us: she’d bumped into him once at a TV or radio show or something, and greeted him with “Hey man, great songs!”, to which Moz apparently responded with “Like you would know?”
And:
“This is what she said:
‘… and it’s not The Smiths. Piss off… It’s not Morrissey because he pissed me off. I’ll tell you why. (audience: He’s a fuckhead!) That’s right. Let me tell you why… fuck off! Great band… I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you people. I’m coming out of a tv show, right, it’s forever ago, and he’s walking past me, this little short guy, and I’m walking past and I have heels on, so I can say that. And I look back and I just said, ‘Hey man, you’ve written great songs.’ He said, ‘What the fuck do you know?’
What the fuck do I know, motherfucker, who are you trying to sell records to in america you small-dick motherfucker? We never spoke again. So I’m not doing his song. But I like the band and I listen to the songs, but this is somebody else…”
She said it with humor, btw.”
So there you go.
This begs the question: Had Pitchfork editors possibly heard this story before, and deliberately baited Amos in the hopes of getting more lurid details?
Perhaps.
Herman75
Two celebrities don’t get along. I forgot to care.
Kangol
I love his solo music and the Smiths’ but he’s said a lot of really offensive, rac!st crap over the years. He also has a rep as a total prima donna. I’m with Tori Amos on this one.
DCguy
Miss Morrisey being a bitch to somebody? I’m in SHOCK!
Luc
Hahaha I love Tori Amos. I was expecting some intellectual sounding blah blah blah but no…that was a pretty sick burn.
Donston
I have liked much of his band’s music, but Morrissey has always come off like a miserable gay/gay-leaning man who never got over that self-loathing and conflicted stage, which inevitably leads to bitterness and hatred towards others.
Donston
He also comes off like the type who’s only interested in “straight guys”.
dustychiffon
Donston, you’re spot on. And he gets them, the lucky queen.
Donston
I don’t really consider him “lucky”. None of these homo and homo-dominant men who are obsessed with getting hetero or hetero-dominant men seem all that happy. Almost all of them seem to contend with some type of internalized homophobia, seem to contend with continuous bouts of depression and/or are still closeted to some degree. It also means they can’t build real and substantial relationships, because they’re actively looking for guys who would only be with them for their money or who will only use them to indulge certain fetishes with men/indulge their slight attraction to men or who are in deep denial.
I’m very grateful that I didn’t develop those types of instincts and have had attraction to and chemistry with men who are truly sexually attracted to men and also are interested in committing to a man and loving a man.
Raul
I like his music, have been to his concerts, but recently he’s becoming more than an asshole than before… He supported Brexit, he’s kind of racist and misogynist and c’mon his obsession with chickens. Let’s not talk about his internalized homophobia. Bitter and complicated heifer he is… Tori is just lovely.
Donston
I’ve learned throughout the years that any long grown person who is obsessed with James Dean or Kurt Cobian and views either one as a personal icon is very likely to have serious issues with their ego, their self-worth, their general morale, being socially amiable and having an understanding and self-comfort with whatever they are.
dustychiffon
Two people who’ve been famous too long. Mortuary is sexy, I admit, in that crooner way, but his personality is death. And Tori has whiffs of that Madonna-Johnny Depo-accent shit that just reeks of tweety birds.