Will someone please tell me what the difference is between fur and leather??
They both involve wearing a dead animal's skin for the sake of vanity, how could he fall out with a friend for wearing fur while he's traipsing around in his Gucci leather footwear?
I don't know about Morrissey's reasoning, but in general I think people who think leather is okay but not fur are reverse snobs, they object to fur because it's the trendy attitude and resent the fact that it's mostly rich people who wear it. Get a grip! It's the same fucking thing!
And before anyone starts going on about how furry animals are treated, how about all the poor battery hens that live in misery so that the anti-fur people who eat dairy products can have their omelettes and scrambled eggs! Do you think they all insist on free-range organic ones? I doubt it. And since when do dairy cows have such a pleasant life? They probably love having all those hormones and antibiotics pumped into them, and having their poor little calves snatched away.
When Morrissey orders his breakfast at the Ritz do you think he tells them if they don't have cruelty free eggs and dairy he'll just have dry toast and Captain Crunch with no milk? I fucking doubt it.
I don't want any cop-out answers about 'leather is just a by-product of the meat industry so it doesn't encourage it' - because it does encourage it, they make money from the skins and if they couldn't sell them the price of meat would go up and people would buy less of it. It's also putting money in the pockets of the people who slaughter them, so don't kid yourselves that there is a huge difference between eating meat, wearing leather, and wearing fur. And don't even get me started on people who are anti-fur but DO eat meat, that is just ridiculous.
By the way, just to put this in context, I'm an evil, meat eating, leather and fur wearer, although I don't think I would say that it's right to be. And I usually like animals more than I do people.

Who is Pete Burns?

First of all, Pete Burns has always been a flaming flamboyant debutante. His voice and songs are vile; I have no clue why anyone would associate with him. He once was quoted as saying that he would die to have his photo taken with 50 nude sailors. I am not homophobic whatsoever, but it sounds like Pete *has* to be the center of attention wherever he goes! I think he looks gross, too.

Nevertheless, I am the biggest Morrissey/Smiths fan in the entire state of Indiana. I respect Morrissey very much, and, yes, I have a healthy repsect for Pete Burns to some degree.

Morrissey, however, does not wear leather shoes at all. WHERE is this notion coming from? It is possible to purchase extremely high-quality synthetic shoes from great designers.
Also- I don't believe Morrissey is VEGAN. Morrissey has been quoted as saying that he does enjoy yoghurt. Being vegan is an IDEAL state, but all vegans will tell you that it is impossible to avoid all sources of animal products completely 100% of the time.
Morrissey should be commended on spreading the word.
Truly,
Kenneth G. Stavitzke

He's SAID in interviews that he wears leather shoes and belts, and if you look at photos of him where you can see the soles of his shoes, like when he's lying down (live shots, or the one with the Q questionnaire last year), you will see that they are leather. Stalker photos show he has leather seats in his car, and according to Michael Bracewell in 1999: "Morrissey is sitting in a broad leather armchair in the window of his house in Los Angeles".
Personally I don't care if he's hypocritical about it, but it does seem a bit much for him to be so hard on someone he considered a friend because of a wafer-thin line between fur and leather.
I think it's fine to be a hypocrite in your own actions, but it's a bit much being so self-righteous about it looking down your nose at where other people choose to draw the line.

You people are idiots they still talk, that was a joke. A mear joke. Jesus must we take everthing so serious.Morrissey doesn't. As a matter of fact Moz has a great sense of humor unlike most of you.Lighten Up !!!

From the interview he did for Greenscene magazine:

How do you feel about wearing leather?
M: I stopped wearing leather jackets a number of years ago. I do wear leather shoes though because I can't really see that there is a sensible alternative.

It is difficult as the shoe manufacturers tend only to make a decent range of synthetic shoes for women. Curtess are bringing out manmade shoes for men now though.
M: I didn't know about that.

Would you go there now?
M: Today?! Yes I would. I think that the synthetic shoes I've seen in the past looked very silly and that does come into it unfortunately.

Are looks more important than animals?
M: No, but unfortunately it still comes into it.

Do you still take Royal jelly?
M: No, it's the property of others isn't it? The bees work hard for it and I don't, so now I'm on ginseng which keeps me as young as I look!!

What do you think about people wearing fur?
M: It's disgusting. They're disgusting. If I'm in a hotel or restaurant and I see someone wearing fur, I ask them to take it out of public view. They usually do. They are deeply offended, wounded and humiliated and I think they feel a bit ridiculous, but they still remove it.

Okay, this is quite a comical picture - so Morrissey, who has dead animals on his feet (because synthetic shoes look 'silly'- meaning looks ARE more important than animals) walks up to someone and insists that they take the dead animal off their back.(because looks AREN'T more important than animals) - Yes, the man does have a sense of humor, and a good one at that! And balls, too!

And the bees, he eats honey that they produce to feed their young but to eat the royal jelly for the Queen is wrong? Oh the babies can starve, but don't let the Queen go hungry!

Next time I see him I'm going to climb up on stage and ask him to remove his shoes from public view, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that he's also got leather pants and underwear on so they'll have to go too!

from last month's popbitch:

        Pete Burns goes mad. Again
        Glueing shoes to cars - not a good sign

        Poor Pete Burns. The Dead Or Alive singer
        has been sectioned by the police for his
        own safety.

        The problems began when Pete was seen
        in Notting Hill trying to superglue one of
        his stiletto shoes to a parked car.

        A friend saw him and, thinking he'd been on
        a drink or drug binge, suggested he go home
        and sober up.

        Pete tried to go home, but he had forgetten
        where he lived, so broke into his neighbour's
        house. She came home a few hours later and
        heard singing and music coming from upstairs.

        Upon reaching the bathroom, she found Pete
        sitting in her bath in full drag, singing
        "You spin me round" in a trance-like state.

        The voices told him to steal plants...

        After spray-painting his feet gold and
        visiting Browns nightclub in peep-toed kitten
        heel shoes, Pete then decided to paint
        "Nukleapatra" all over the inside of
        his house. Finally, he dug up all his
        neighbours plants so he could re-plant
        them in his own garden.

        Pete is currently being held in a maximum
        security "celebrity relaxation centre".

The day I heard "Meat is Murder" is the day Morrissey won me over for good. Yes, I do think it hypocritical of Morrissey to wear leather, yet label someone who wears fur as "disgusting". Still, let us not nitpick to the point that we let these actions outweigh his greater message that all animals should be treated with compassion. In my own humble opinion, choosing not to eat animals is the most powerful thing you can do for the cause. I agree with sycophantic_slag, Morrissey should be commended for the stance he has taken in the animal rights movement.

He obviously knows it wouldn't wash with the Peta people as there's a photo of him at their fundraiser on the general discussion board here and he's got no belt on and instead of his usual loafers he's got gym shoes on.
Kind of funny though that he'll wear leather while telling someone off for wearing fur, but he wimped out and wouldn't risk the wrath of Peta! It's probably a good thing though, they can be pretty violent, who knows what they would have done to him.

Its funny too see you veggie people get your panties in a knot over shit like this. Man for how ever long we've been around have survived eating meat and it will continue. I dont feel that the methods of killing the animals is right, hopefully someday to shut you fuckin whining bitch vegitarians up, they could put the animals asleep before we butcher them. I mean its a dirty job....but I'll always eat meat. I love Morrissey, his band, his views on life, blah blah blah, but it wont change the fact I will never stop eating meat. After the concert in San Diego, when Moz said something about vegetarians this-and the rest can go to hell...I mean shit- i went home...and enjoyed a nice juicy hamburger at In & Out...Who the fuck wants a Tofu burger anyway?

Seems he's as good as an animal assasin anyway so what if he went the whole (sorry) hog?