Photo Credit: Morrissey by Raph_PH / CC by 2.0

Morrissey releases a statement about people he claims to have identified who posed as him online to spread misinformation about his political ties.

Morrissey has remained popular in the decades since the Smiths broke up, but certainly not without numerous controversies. In recent years, these have included his sudden show cancellations and leaving the stage in the middle of a set—as well as that time he wore a button supporting a far-right UK extremist group while performing on The Tonight Show. Last year, he claimed to be the victim of a “decades-long campaign of fraud, disinformation, and defamation.” Now, the star says he has identified a number of people who have posed as him online with the goal of tying him to far-right politics.

In February 2025, online protection firm Web Sheriff claimed to have identified a person of interest responsible for the “fraudulent online campaign” against Morrissey. The singer subsequently took legal action against the publicly unidentified person. At the time, Morrissey released a statement claiming that this person led a series of defamatory and deliberate political attacks against him, which he said resulted in his inability to release music in the UK “for five years.” Notably, Morrissey finally released a new album, Make-Up Is a Lie, this past March.

On Thursday, Morrissey released another statement on his website, claiming that Web Sheriff identified “nine individuals masquerading as Morrissey operating on behalf of various political groups.” One of these impersonators allegedly had a “connection with a generally unsupportive ‘Morrissey’ website operating in the USA,” while another is said to have “had connections to an ex-member of the Smiths.”

“Their posted commentaries severely harmed Morrissey’s status and character,” the statement read. “Morrissey has not ever been active on open forums, and has not ever owned a smart-phone, or contributed to Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, or joined a political party. His reach is restricted to the M-central site, which has always been based in England.”

“The planned operation to take police action against the nine individuals requires appointment of two legal firms,” the statement continues. “The financial commitment of extensive and unremitting expenditure is outside of Morrissey’s personal capacity to shoulder. The next move is under consideration.”

While the statement doesn’t identify which ex-member of the Smiths that could be, Morrissey has had public beefs with all three of the band’s other members over the years. Most recently, Morrissey spoke out against Johnny Marr’s story about the Smiths signing to Rough Trade, but that’s just the latest in a laundry list of grievances.