Columnist brands Stormzy 'boring and patronising' and 'fully part of the cultural elite'

23 December 2019, 08:34 | Updated: 23 December 2019, 08:38

Stormzy has been branded a "rather boring, patronising, pontificating figure. Who is constantly telling the rest of us what we ought to be thinking," by one columnist.

Brendan O'Neill, the editor of Spiked Online, wrote a column at the weekend titled "Stormzy is the new Bono," when LBC's Nick Ferrari asked him what he meant by the headline, the journalist struck out at the music star.

Mr O'Neill said: "I meant that he has become a rather boring, patronising, pontificating figure. Who is constantly telling the rest of us what we ought to be thinking."

The grime artist has been in the news after an interview he gave to an Italian newspaper made headlines in the UK, when Stormzy accusing the media of "intentionally spinning (his) words" after he said he believed the UK was still a racist country.

Branding Stormzy "fully part of the cultural elite," Mr O'Neill said "he has bought into this idea that Britain is a racist country," adding "that's what people in the cultural elite tend to think, that's what the rather snobby inhabitants of that world tend to think about the rest of the country."

"This idea that the country is full of racists, it's not true," the journalist said before adding the UK is a "far less racist country" than other European countries.

Stormzy, who released his second album Heavy Is The Head earlier this month, made the comments in question during an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Asked whether the UK was still a racist country, he said: "Definitely, 100%. It's like: 'Oh no, we're not racist'. But there's a lot of racism in the country."

When Nick Ferrari asked about the reports of an increase in racism following Brexit, Mr O'Neill branded a surge in hate crimes "a complete fantasy."

Addressing the way hate crimes are reported, Mr O'Neill said it was "completely and utterly subjective."

The columnist added Stormzy was an "incredibly talented man" who is "doing wonders for grime music."

But, he warned the "chattering left" could do him harm.

Watch the whole debate in the video at the top of the page.