Rapper Slowthai holds up fake severed head of Boris Johnson during Mercury Prize performance
20 September 2019, 08:13
Rapper Slowthai has caused controversy after holding up an effigy of Boris Johnson's severed head during his performance at the Mercury Prize ceremony.
Slowthai grabbed the fake head from the floor and held it up during his perfomance last night, shouting: "F*** Boris Johnson. F*** everything."
The 24-year-old from Northampton was one of the 12 nominees for the annual award and one of the last to perform on stage at the Eventim Apollo in west London.
During his performance of the track 'Doorman', Slowthai grabbed the fake head from the floor and shouted: "F*** Boris. F*** everything."
The camera quickly panned away from the performance, but huge cheers could be heard from the audience as he left the stage.
Awards host Lauren Laverne addressed the incident afterwards, saying: "Slowthai, with his own views there".
The rapper also posted a tweet during the awards ceremony promoting "F*** Boris Johnson" T-shirts.
Slowthai was nominated for the Mercury Prize for his album "Nothing Great About Britain", which casts a critical eye over modern life in the UK.
He lost out on the prize to south London rapper Dave, who won with his debut album Psychodrama.
