Glastonbury 2019: Boris Johnson says Stormzy was rapping ‘Back Boris’, not ‘f**k Boris’ The prospective Prime Minister quipped that the rapper was ‘briefly misunderstood’ at Glastonbury

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Boris Johnson has joked that Stormzy was actually rapping “Back Boris” in his set at Glastonbury festival.

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In his headline set at Glastonbury on Friday, Stormzy performed track Vossi Bop, which includes the lyrics: “F**k the government and f**k Boris.”

The moment, which saw the crowd shouting “f**k Boris,” was broadcast live on the BBC.

Briefly misunderstood

Prospective future Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a diplomatic response to the “f**k Boris” line when asked about the incident at a Tory hustings in Carlisle on Saturday.

He told Press Association: “Yes, I know, good old Stormzy. I want to pay tribute to Stormzy.

“I’m a great enthusiast and admirer of Mr Stomzy’s works. And I think he’s one of the great lyricists and poets of our times.

“And I think that, I want to thank him for his rousing endorsement of the Back Boris campaign. ‘Back Boris’ I think was what he said.”

This is the moment Boris Johnson claimed Stormzy actually said "back Boris" during his Glastonbury performance pic.twitter.com/plh70eFG1X — PA Media (@PA) June 29, 2019

The Conservative leadership candidate continued: “There may have been some problems with the acoustics that caused him to be briefly misunderstood.

“Stormzy seems to me to be thoroughly on message.”

Vossi Bop was released as a single in April, before Mr Johnson formally announced his candidacy for the Conservative leadership.

Stormzy, the second youngest solo act to headline Glastonbury, took to the stage wearing a stab vest embellished with a Union Jack, designed by Banksy.

Pro-Corbyn rapper

The rapper has previously backed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, leading chants of “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” at his 2017 Glastonbury set.

Stormzy seems to me to be thoroughly on message Boris Johnson MP

Speaking about his admiration for Mr Corbyn in a 2016 interview with The Guardian, Stormzy explained: “My man, Jeremy! Young Jeremy, my guy. I dig what he says.

“I saw some sick picture of him from back in the day when he was campaigning about anti-apartheid and I thought: yeah, I like your energy.”

He added: “Have you seen that footage of House of Commons? They’re all neeky dons! The way they all laugh and cheer. Is this f**king Game Of Thrones?

“You lot have got real issues to talk about and deal with. That’s why I like Jeremy: I feel like he gets what the ethnic minorities are going through and the homeless and the working class.”

BBC bashed

Elsewhere at the Carlisle hustings event, Mr Johnson branded the BBC the “Brexit Bashing Corporation,” drawing laughs from Conservative Party members.

He hit out at the corporation for dropping free TV licenses for over-75s, adding: “They accepted that as part of the deal – they are not children – they knew what the agreement was and they should stick to it.



“All of their highly expensive presenters mean that they can’t afford to look after over 75-year-olds when it comes to their TV licence.”

Addressing a camera crew at the back of the room, he shouted: “Hi BBC. Look after the over 75-year-olds. Thank you.”