Bryan Adams lashed out at whoever caused the transfer of the coronavirus from humans to animals, expressing frustration that the resulting pandemic has forced him into lockdown when he should be on tour.

He’d been set to perform a series of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London, but instead found himself at home under lockdown. In a bid to make it up to fans, Adams revealed he’d play songs from the planned performances over the coming nights – but started with an angry message to accompany his rendition of “Cuts Like a Knife.”

“Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the Royal Albert Hall, but thanks to some fucking bat-eating, wet market animal-selling, virus-making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold,” Adams wrote on Instagram. “My message to them, other than ‘thanks a fucking lot,’ is go vegan. To all the people missing out on our shows, I wish I could be there more than you know. It’s been great hanging out in isolation with my children and family, but I miss my other family, my band, my crew and my fans. Take care of yourselves and hope we can get the show on the road again soon.”

UPDATE: Adams has issued an apology for his earlier post, addressing comments that misconstrued his anger as racist in nature, when, he notes, it was promoting veganism. "Apologies to any and all that took offence to my posting yesterday. No excuse, I just wanted to have a rant about the horrible animal cruelty in these wet-markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism. I have love for all people and my thoughts are with everyone dealing with this pandemic around the world."

 

The virus is thought to have been passed to humans via bats that were sold alive for food at a market in China, though that may never be confirmed. While many parts of the world are attempting to loosen lockdown conditions, it’s not clear when full-scale concerts would resume. Some commentators have suggested it might not happen until the end of 2021; many fans noted in a recent survey that they wouldn’t consider returning until a cure was available.

There are currently 4.26 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world, with 287,332 deaths and 1.53 million recoveries. Of the 2.44 million active cases, 98 percent are said to be mild while 46,936 are serious or critical. In the U.S., the total stands at 1.39 million cases, with 81,795 deaths and 262,225 recoveries.

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