NEWS
Howard Stern is urging Meat Loaf’s family to advocate for people to be vaccinated against Covid-19 following the singer’s death on Jan. 20, as Variety reports.
While Meat Loaf’s cause of death has not been confirmed, TMZ reported that he had been “seriously ill with Covid.” The singer had also previously spoken out against pandemic safety protocols. It’s unclear whether he was vaccinated.
In May, Meat Loaf shared a link to Eric Clapton and Van Morrison’s anti-lockdown song “Stand & Deliver” on Facebook, captioning it, “A song of great interest and learning. Listen and Learn.” He also shared his views on the pandemic with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in August. “I hug people in the middle of COVID,” he said. “I understood stopping life for a little while, but they cannot continue to stop life because of politics. And right now they’re stopping because of politics.”
After the interviewer told him, “Oh, God. We’re being controlled by everybody,” Meat Loaf responded, “Yeah, I know. But not me. If I die, I die, but I’m not going to be controlled.”
During Stern’s SiriusXM radio show, the host said, “Poor Meat Loaf got sucked into some weird fucking cult. And somehow really believed that — he made a statement, ‘I’d rather die a free man than take that vaccine.’ And now he’s dead!”
Stern, who appears to believe Meat Loaf died of Covid-19 and was unvaccinated, beckoned Meat Loaf’s family to speak out about it. “I wish the family would come forward and say, ‘Ya know, when Meat Loaf was laying there in the hospital and he couldn’t breathe, he said, ‘I made a mistake. I should have taken the vaccine.’ Like all these anti-vaxxers, they all say, ‘I made a mistake.'”
Over the last few months, Stern has taken to the airwaves to blast anti-vaxxers. Last week, he proposed that hospitals should shun patients who are not vaccinated against Covid-19. Addressing the anti-vax set, he said, “It’s time for you to get it. Now, if you don’t get it, in my America, all hospitals would be closed to you. You’re going to go home and die. That is what you should get. Absolutely.” In December, Stern’s guest Billie Eilish shared that she believed that had she not been vaccinated when she had Covid-19, that she would have died.
Taylor Swift believes Nashville has a music scene that stands apart from anywhere else.
The 36 year old singer moved to Nashville, Tennessee, when she was young to chase her dream of becoming a country music star. After being inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on Monday (26.10.26), Taylor took the opportunity to recognise the city and the talented writers who have helped shape its music scene.
In her acceptance speech, Taylor said: "I believe you really get to master a craft by doing it again and again. That's exactly what the incredible songwriters in this wonderful town do every day."
Taylor also spoke about what makes Nashville such a special place for musicians.
The award winning singer, who ranks among the best selling music artists of all time, said: "You won't find another music community quite like this one. Trust me, I've checked them all."
Taylor also shared how being part of Nashville's songwriting scene had taught her valuable lessons about life and working with others.
She joked: "I've learned to be flexible when your co writer turns up with a hangover, or when they need to spend ages talking about their divorce before we can even get started on a song."
Taylor previously spoke about how Faith Hill and Shania Twain inspired her decision to move to Nashville.
Speaking to Time magazine, the singer said: "I couldn't get enough of watching TV biographies about Faith Hill and Shania Twain, and I realised they had both moved to Nashville to get their careers started. After that, I kept asking, pleading and begging my parents to take me there.
"When I was 11, my mum took my brother and me to Nashville during spring break, and we spent the trip driving around Music Row. She stayed in the car while I rushed into record companies one after another, giving my demo CD to the receptionists. I found it fascinating that so many major record labels were gathered along a single street, often inside little buildings and old houses.
"What really stayed with me was how welcoming people were to newcomers and complete strangers like us. We started visiting Nashville more often, and when I was 13, I received an offer for a development deal from a major record label. That was when my parents finally agreed to leave Pennsylvania and move with me."
