'Not a good look': Sir Rod Stewart addresses backlash over World Cup attendance
Sir Rod Stewart has admitted it "wasn't a good look" to attend a World Cup game just a day after cancelling a concert due to ill health.
Sir Rod Stewart has admitted it "wasn't a good look" to attend a World Cup game the day after cancelling a concert due to ill health.
The Maggie May hitmaker pulled out of a show in California on 12 June just hours before it was due to start after contracting laryngitis, but the following day, he faced a backlash when he posted a video of himself and sons Liam, 31, and Alistair, 20, flying to Boston in a private jet to watch his beloved Scotland take on Haiti.
And now the 81-year-old singer has addressed the criticism and insisted he didn't want to let his kids down after years of promising they would go to the tournament if Scotland qualified.
Speaking to Jim White on talkSport, he said: "No, I got an awful... I really shouldn't have gone to the Haiti game. You know, I had to cancel a show the night before because I just had no voice left.
"But the truth is, Jim, I wasn't going to let my two sons down.
"I promised them since they were born that we were going to go to a World Cup. And this is the first one that's come about. And it wasn't a good look, I admit, but I'm going to have to just take the stick. So I did it for the boys."
After Rod "regretfully" cancelled the concert, he faced a backlash when he posted a video of himself and his sons flying to Boston for the game.
He said in the video: “Here we are flying off to Boston to see Scotland in the World Cup.
“It's been 28 years so these kids, I've told them about it, but they've never been. I've been to seven World Cups.”
But in the comments section people were quick to slam Rod for making the trip despite his illness and subsequent show cancellation.
One wrote: “This feels rather disingenuous, especially after your cancellation last night. Too ill to perform but okay to fly across the country for soccer?”
As another added: “So you blew off all the people in San Diego that wanted to see you in concert but able to go to the world cup I see! I'm a huge fan of yours but I don't think that's cool.”
While a third commented: “I understand that shows sometimes have to be canceled, and if there was a legitimate reason, most fans would have accepted it.
“What’s hard to accept is seeing you apparently celebrating on a plane with friends less than 24 hours after thousands of people were sent home disappointed in San Diego.
“Many traveled long distances, paid for hotels, parking, tickets, and took time off work to be there.
“Then to see you flying across the country for a soccer game the very next morning makes the situation feel even more tone deaf.
“The cancellation was frustrating enough, but this comes across as incredibly dismissive of the fans who support your career. A little empathy and awareness would have gone a long way.”
