‘The Sopranos’ star Michael Imperioli defends Morrissey: “I still give him the benefit of the doubt”

The Sopranos star Michael Imperioli has defended Morrissey, saying he still “gives him the benefit of the doubt”.

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The former frontman of The Smiths has come under scrutiny in recent years for making a number of comments that have deemed be racist. However, in a new interview with The Guardian, Imperioli explained how other members of the band had led him to believe that racism is not a part of who Morrissey is.

“I’m not sure how racist the things he said were,” said the actor. “To me they weren’t flagrantly racist. I’ve never met Morrissey but I do know a lot of people in the current band and people who have played with him in the past who are very smart, and the least racist people you could imagine. They adamantly express that racism is not a part of who he is, by any stretch of the imagination.

“I still give him the benefit of the doubt. I know a lot of people don’t, but somehow I still do. As an artist, considering what he’s done, he should always have the advantages of having a label promoting him.

Speaking of his admiration for Morrissey as an artist, Imperioli also said in the interview: “As a lyricist, he’s on the level of Bob Dylan and Lou Reed to me: his intelligence, his wit and point of view.

“I think that’s why so many people connect to him, people who feel like outsiders. When they hear his lyrics and see him perform, they feel less alone in the world. I didn’t discover the Smiths until after I was finished with high school. I was very clueless musically. But when I was 17, I was in Manhattan and I had friends who quickly exposed me to the good stuff like the Smiths.”

The actor also praised Morrissey for his impassioned critique of the music industry’s response to Sinead O’Connor’s death.

“I thought what he wrote about Sinéad O’Connor was spot on and brilliant — how easily she was abandoned by the music industry. He was as well. Bonfire of Teenagers was dropped by the label and still hasn’t come out. He’s on the edge of controversy a lot and they shy away from that. I think [his situation] is similar [to O’Connor’s] in a lot of ways.”

Morrissey was a long-time fan of O’Connor, who faced huge public pressure and scrutiny during her life as a result of her criticism of the Catholic Church, her conversion to Islam, and her mental health struggles.

The post ‘The Sopranos’ star Michael Imperioli defends Morrissey: “I still give him the benefit of the doubt” appeared first on NME.