The much loved singer-songwriter Van Morrison has begun legal action against the Northern Irish Health Department and it’s minister Robin Swann. The exact grounds of the legal proceedings haven’t been released yet, but it is clear that the “Brown Eyed Girl” singer is not very happy with an opinion piece written by the health minister in Rolling Stone magazine back in September 2020. The piece repeatedly referenced Morrison and his public attitude towards the covid restrictions in place at the time as “dangerous” and “irresponsible”. It came in response to the singer’s announcement of three new songs “No More Lockdown,” “Born to Be Free” and “As I Walked Out” which included lines such as: “No more lockdown, No more government overreach, No more fascist bullies, Disturbing our peace”.
Having only a few years ago said “I’m apolitical. I’ve got nothing to say about politics whatsoever” it seems Van has made quite the U-turn in recent years. With these songs he joins a growing list of high profile anti-vaxers such as Eric Clapton, Robert DeNiro, Charlie Sheen, Selma Blair, Jim Carey, and Jessica Biel, in his criticism of his countries handling of the pandemic. Few public announcements of doubt have led to a legal showdown though, for that the esteemed singer-songwriter raises his head above the parapet.
The Northern Ireland Department of Health told the BBC it would not comment on active legal matters, but it seems Morrison wasn’t the first to draw blood. Back in November 2021 Robin Swann issued proceedings against the singer following a cancelled hotel gig where Morrison chanted that the Health Minister was “very dangerous” after a last minute blanket ban on live music forced him to lay down his guitar in defeat. Swann’s proceedings against Morrison also included reference to an interview he had done where he called Swann a “fraud” and again made reference to him being “dangerous”. Morrison’s legal team responded at the time by saying “Mr Morrison asserts within that defence that the words used by him related to a matter of public interest and constituted fair comment.”
It’s all got a little sticky then, with all the back and forth it’s difficult to know who will end up on top and what that victory will actually mean for whoever claims it. Until Van reveals on what grounds he is pursuing legal action we won’t know, but he’ll certainly have an uphill struggle against the legal muscle the Northern Irish government is likely to put behind their defence.
