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submitted 1 year ago by jeffw@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

Eric Clapton helped raise $1 million for Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign at a private fundraiser on Monday night, Kennedy’s campaign announced Tuesday.

Clapton and his band performed at an event, which raised a total of $2.2 million, including $1 million for Kennedy’s campaign and $1.2 million for a political action committee supporting him.

“I am deeply grateful to Eric Clapton for bringing his musical artistry and rebellious spirit to my gathering in Los Angeles last night,” Kennedy said in the press release, which described the Monday night event as a “once-in-a-lifetime musical performance.”

Kennedy’s campaign announced in late August that Clapton would perform at the private fundraiser, which reportedly offered tickets starting at $3,300, up to a maximum of $6,600.

Kennedy and Clapton have both been outspoken about their skepticism of vaccines, which has resulted in fierce blowback from the public.

In the statement Tuesday, Kennedy praised Clapton but did not mention their shared skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines.

“I sometimes think that in our divided society, it is music rather than any kind of intellectual agreement that has the most potential to bring us together again,” Kennedy said in the press release.

“Eric sings from the depths of the human condition. If he sees in me the possibility of bringing unity to our country, it is only possible because artists like him invoke a buried faith in the limitless power of human beings to overcome any obstacle,” he added.

Kennedy is one of two long-shot Democratic presidential bids to challenge incumbent President Biden for the Democratic nomination. While neither Kennedy nor author Marianne Williamson have made any significant headway against the president, Kennedy has been critical of efforts of establishment Democrats to block any serious threat to Biden’s campaign.

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[-] fubo@lemmy.world 210 points 1 year ago

Eric "Keep Britain White" Clapton?

Dude's been a racist assbag longer than I've been alive.

[-] xantoxis@lemmy.world 132 points 1 year ago

If the horrible crap coming out of RFK Jr or Eric Clapton was previously unknown to you: they both suck pretty hard. If you're like "Oh, Tears in Heaven is so meaningful" please realize that he fucking sucks, and anyone he's giving a million dollars to also fucking sucks.

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[-] ivanafterall@kbin.social 114 points 1 year ago

What's the difference between a child and a bag of cocaine?

Eric Clapton would never let a bag of cocaine fall out of a window.

[-] Fuzzy_Dunlop@lemm.ee 72 points 1 year ago

Of the many jokes I've heard over the years, I've forgotten most. This one, which I heard about 20 years ago, I've never forgotten, and it still hasn't gotten old.

Just like Connor Clapton.

[-] muse@kbin.social 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I just woke my spouse up with my gasp, good one

[-] flossdaily@lemmy.world 62 points 1 year ago

Interesting. I had no idea that Eric Clapton was a moron.

[-] fiat_lux@kbin.social 102 points 1 year ago

Always has been. Here's his drunk on-stage rant from 1976 in Birmingham.

** Content warning: Racism and racist slurs. **

"Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? If so, please put up your hands. So where are you? Well wherever you all are, I think you should all just leave. Not just leave the hall, leave our country. I don't want you here, in the room or in my country. Listen to me, man! I think we should vote for Enoch Powell. Enoch's our man. I think Enoch's right, I think we should send them all back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white. I used to be into dope, now I'm into racism. It's much heavier, man. Fucking wogs, man. Fucking Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and fucking Jamaicans don't belong here, we don't want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don't want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man. This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for fuck's sake? Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!" - Eric Clapton

Enoch Powell was a conservative party politician running for election, incidentally.

Clapton has always been truly awful and this is completely in character for him.

[-] macarthur_park@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago

"Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? If so, please put up your hands.

This reads like a cover of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, but with messed up lyrics.

[-] capt_wolf@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Except In The Flesh is meant to be satire.

The character, Pink, imagines himself as a fascist dictator as he struggles to keep his sanity. The whole scene echoes the power he wields over his fans and in turn how blindly they will follow him, not at all unlike Hitler and the nazi regime. It echoes his hatred for his authoritarian teacher, his overbearing mother, the war that killed his father, and his inability to cope with who he is, his stardom, his isolation, any of it.

There's a cool analysis of it here.

Clapton is just being a PoS. Brilliant musician, but a trash heap of a human.

[-] xantoxis@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Even though I knew about both of these things, I'm just now realizing that Pink Floyd released The Wall in 1979--three years after Clapton's rant. Suddenly I'm thinking these are not unrelated. What's more, Roger Waters himself says the idea for the album was inspired in 1977, only 1 year following.

[-] capt_wolf@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

There was a large xenophobic movement going on at the time. This forbidden site post has several points about the similarities too. There were a few others when I searched Google too. Clapton's speech spurred the creation of the "Rock Against Racism" movement. I'd say it's very possible. Definitely makes sense when you put it in the same perspective as Pink's character. Rock legend gets a little too drunk with power, and a little too drunk and high in general, uses his platform to spew out his beliefs, knowing his fans will soak it up because they love him and would do anything for him.

Ironically, Waters and Clapton played the song together back in 84!

[-] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 year ago

🎶 Are there any queers in the theater tonight?

Get 'em up against the wall ('gainst the wall)

Now there's one in the spotlight, he don't look right to me

Get him up against the wall ('gainst the-)🎶

[-] JeffMarkFrank@lemm.ee 12 points 1 year ago

Holy crap. Fuck that dude.

[-] jeffw@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago

It’s become more and more apparent over the years

[-] Blastasaurus@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago

Yeh he's always been a piece of shit.

[-] ech@lemm.ee 51 points 1 year ago

Ah yes, Eric Clapton. The voice of unity and inspiration!

"Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? If so, please put up your hands. So where are you? Well wherever you all are, I think you should all just leave. Not just leave the hall, leave our country. I don't want you here, in the room or in my country. Listen to me, man! I think we should vote for Enoch Powell. Enoch's our man. I think Enoch's right, I think we should send them all back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white. I used to be into dope, now I'm into racism. It's much heavier, man. Fucking wogs, man. Fucking Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and fucking Jamaicans don't belong here, we don't want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don't want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man. This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for fuck's sake? Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!" - Eric Clapton, 1976

[-] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 year ago

A lot of people were racist as hell in the 70s and 50 years is a long time to possibly change. I don't know anything about Clapton beyond hearing his music. He still a racist xenophobe?

[-] supert@lemmy.sdfeu.org 10 points 1 year ago

He said he regretted it, he was young and stupid and he no longer holds those views.

But, a lot of people were also not racist in the 1970s.

[-] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 year ago

Most of the people that weren't racist in the 70s had reasons to be not racist in the 70s. Mostly you grew up in a mixed neighborhood and had friends of other races, or your parents weren't racist. Chances are if you'd have taken 100 people who weren't racist and threw them in families in some white kkk town in Alabama to grow up, 95 of them would have been racist.

If they guy apologized ages ago for it and never said any other racist shit for 40 years I'm not going to hold it against him. I'll just hold him backing Kennedy against him. I don't know about Clapton, but I know RFK JR is a twat. Lol

[-] supert@lemmy.sdfeu.org 1 points 1 year ago

I'm thinking of the UK, I'm not directly familiar woth 70's USA.

[-] Armen12@lemm.ee 34 points 1 year ago

Just another reason to hate both these people

[-] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago

You know what they say, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go with Eric Clapton and RFK Jr, go fuck yourself.

[-] Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago

And why exactly is a British man being allowed to raise funds for an American political campaign?

[-] paintbucketholder@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

Because there are no restrictions for the moneyed class.

You're a multi-millionaire and you want to hold a little $6,600-a-ticket private concert to raise a couple of millions for a fellow multi-millionaire so that he can spread his toxic ideas while running for office? Go right ahead.

“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.”

[-] reagansrottencorpse@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

That's an awesome quote.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

The Supreme Court basically ruled that money for political campaigns can now come from anyone, anywhere. Even secretly is fine.

[-] rockSlayer@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

I didn't know RFK JR needed it, considering he's being funded by the Republican party

[-] sturmblast@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

shitbirds of a feather

[-] relative_iterator@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 year ago

Well known really good dude Eric Clapton /s

[-] FReddit@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

I didn't realize Clapton is a fucking moron.

[-] hihusio@kbin.social 24 points 1 year ago

he's also a racist piece of shit

[-] SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 year ago

🌏👨‍🚀🔫👨‍🚀 always has been

[-] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 year ago

Finally know the answer to all the "If I saw you in heaven..." lyrics. No, Eric. You aren't going there.

[-] pudcollar@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Not gonna listen to his songs, but I'll torrent and seed his discography for this.

[-] idiomaddict@feddit.de 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Honestly one of my favorite musicians from the pure music side of things. Tales of brave Ulysses is incredible and white room goes so hard.

Please do seed, as this is the least objectionable political idea I’ve ever heard from Clapton. Fuck him.

Edit: every single time, I say ballad of brave Ulysses, I don’t know why I can’t remember it

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 7 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Eric Clapton helped raise $1 million for Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign at a private fundraiser on Monday night, Kennedy’s campaign announced Tuesday.

“I am deeply grateful to Eric Clapton for bringing his musical artistry and rebellious spirit to my gathering in Los Angeles last night,” Kennedy said in the press release, which described the Monday night event as a “once-in-a-lifetime musical performance.”

Kennedy’s campaign announced in late August that Clapton would perform at the private fundraiser, which reportedly offered tickets starting at $3,300, up to a maximum of $6,600.

Kennedy and Clapton have both been outspoken about their skepticism of vaccines, which has resulted in fierce blowback from the public.

In the statement Tuesday, Kennedy praised Clapton but did not mention their shared skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines.

“I sometimes think that in our divided society, it is music rather than any kind of intellectual agreement that has the most potential to bring us together again,” Kennedy said in the press release.


The original article contains 293 words, the summary contains 165 words. Saved 44%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Assholes are gonna asshole, I guess.

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this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
175 points (88.2% liked)

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