Amid music store bosses' refusal to stock his new solo album 'California Son' due to his controversy, the ex-frontman of The Smiths thanks BBC Radio 2 for continuing to support his music.

• May 25, 2019

AceShowbiz - Morrissey has fired back at critics who blasted him for wearing a far-right badge during a U.S. TV performance.

The former The Smiths frontman outraged many fans when he sported the badge bearing the logo of anti-Islam political party For Britain on America's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" earlier this month.

The action prompted U.K. music store bosses to refuse to stock his new solo album, "California Son", while posters advertising the release have been removed from Liverpool's Merseyrail stations following public complaints.

Morrissey has now responded to the backlash in a message to fans on MorriseyCentral.com.

He starts his note by thanking BBC Radio 2 for continuing to support his music, adding, "Whatever the future brings, I will always remember Radio 2's steady support during these rocky weeks..."

"I am sorry the UK print media's contorted interpretation of who and what I am has gone all wrong. In these days when most people are afraid to even whisper, the print media write as if someone is coming to get them. This aching nervousness brings on the vengeful and paranoid."

He adds, "Inventing Britain's doomsday is the preoccupation of the tabloids, and they can hate you for having lived. I straighten up, and my position is one of hope. The march backwards is over, and life has begun again. With voice extended to breaking point, I call for the prosperity of free speech; the eradication of totalitarian control; I call for diversity of opinion; I call for the total abolition of the abattoir; I call for peace, above all; I call for civil society; I call for a so-far unknowable end to brutalities."

But he doesn't explain his apparent support for the far-right party.