Facing a wave of backlash for his recent criticism of Yungblud, The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins has not only defended his comments but has dramatically doubled down on his critique. In a new video, he escalated the feud by moving beyond a critique of a single performance to a damning assessment of Yungblud‘s entire body of work, stating: “I just don’t think he’s written any good songs yet.”
The controversy began last week after Yungblud‘s performance in the MTV VMAs tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. Hawkins‘s brother and bandmate, Dan Hawkins, called the performance “cynical, nauseating and, more importantly, s**t.” Justin Hawkins later backed him up, labeling Yungblud the “latest in a long line of… poseurs.” After facing criticism from fans for the comments, Justin Hawkins addressed the issue directly on his Justin Hawkins Rides Again YouTube channel.
Instead of apologizing, he defended his right to be critical in the modern music landscape. He said:
“I don’t think I criticised Yungblud’s spirit. I admire that as much as the next person. What I was saying was that it comes off like a TV personality doing rock. I find it a bit cringe, and the thing about my career is that I’ve done things that are embarrassing or cringe. Everyone’s been really quick to kick the s**t out of me. It’s got to be said, we can’t live in this culture where criticism is not allowed. When I’ve done embarrassing things, people have called me out, and I appreciate that kind of guidance and criticism. That’s how you become a better artist.”
He then addressed fans who called him “petty, bitter and jealous,” arguing that Yungblud‘s current level of success makes him a fair target for critique.
“Someone like Yungblud should be resilient enough to cope with a little bit of critique because he’s got a huge following and his last few albums have done really, really well. He doesn’t need me to support him… although I have said positive things about his earlier releases because I think, culturally, he could be quite an important individual. I just don’t think he’s written any good songs yet – and that’s my opinion,” he said.
