Tensions are rising in California as Sex Pistols rocker John Lydon, 67, tells Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to leave and stop talking in a recent explosive interview. London-born Lydon, who moved to Malibu over 30 years ago, is not welcoming his fellow British expats Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who settled in nearby Montecito in 2019.
The punk musician, once known as Johnny Rotten, expressed his anger toward the "malicious" couple in a conversation with the Telegraph on Thursday, criticizing them for their inability to stop speaking out despite their alleged desire for privacy. "If you want to be normal and outside of [the royal family], then go away. Just go away and be quiet!" he exclaimed.
The outspokenness of the former Sex Pistols frontman, whose band was famous for their anti-monarchy anthem "God Save the Queen," comes as a surprise. The 1977 song, which contains lines such as "God save the queen/the fascist regime" and "God save the queen/she's not a human being," caused a stir upon its release, with some critics deeming it an attack on Queen Elizabeth II.
In his interview, Lydon claimed to have faced similar conflicts as Harry and Meghan, but opted not to air his private grievances publicly. "I've had to make decisions like this in the past," he said, adding, "I had to leave the Pistols, I had to break up PiL a couple of times because the situation was unsustainable. And if that was their dilemma, then please go away, alright? And we'll love you for it."
He also described Harry's recent memoir, "Spare," as "very spiteful to family and friends."
Lydon is not the only celebrity to criticize the royals lately. British socialite Lizzie Cundy, once a friend of Meghan's, slammed her former friend as "selfish" for not attending King Charles III's upcoming coronation. Cundy, 54, told the Daily Mirror, "I think Meghan is not coming to the coronation because she knows she's going to get booed, but she's putting her own feelings and worries about being booed before her children."
Meghan's absence from the May 6 coronation was confirmed on Tuesday. Amid the couple's ongoing feud with the royal family, Prince Harry will attend the historic event alone.