Noel Gallagher on refusing to wear a face mask: "If I get the virus, it's on me."

15 September 2020, 18:20 | Updated: 16 September 2020, 10:55

The former Oasis man has been telling Matt Morgan that he won't wear a face mask in shops or on public transport.

Noel Gallagher has said that he refuses to wear a face mask in shops or on public transport, adding: "If I get the virus, it's on me."

Speaking on the Matt Morgan podcast, the former Oasis man admitted that he'd refused to comply with the Government's guidance that the public wear the personal protection, unless they are exempt.because of a physical or mental illness or disability.

"Listen to me.. it's not a law. There's too many f**king liberties being taken away from us now. I've been in shops today. [They said], You have to wear a mask. Says who?"

Morgan countered Gallagher's claims by saying: "What's good about the mask is, if someone's coughing next to you with Coronavirus, the mask is gonna lessen the dose you get, So if you breathe in a lot of it, your immune system, no matter how healthy you are, might be overwhelmed by it."

Gallagher went on: "I choose not to wear one. If I get the virus, it's on me. If every other c**t's gonna wear a mask, I'm not gonna catch it off them. And if I've got it, they're not gonna catch it off me. I just think it's a piss take."

“The whole thing’s bollocks. You’re supposed to wear them in Selfridges, yet you can f**king go down the pub and be surrounded by every f**king c**t. It’s like, Oh actually, we don’t have the virus in pubs but we have it in Selfridges? Oh right."

The musician claimed that he'd travelled back home on a train and refused to wear a protective mask. He revealed: “I was going up to Manchester the other week and some guy’s going can you put your mask on, on the train, because the transport police will get on and fine you a thousand pounds. But you don’t have to put it on if you’re eating.

"So I was saying Oh right, this killer virus that’s sweeping through the train is gonna come and attack me but see me having a sandwich and go leave him. Leave him, he’s having his lunch."

Morgan added: "I would wear a mask around people, so if I caught it you're not gonna get a huge amount of it."

Gallagher replied: "Knowing you like I do, you'll be wearing a mask for the rest of your f**king life. Because you're a little cowardly f**king germophobe." The official Government line on wearing masks in shops and public transport is that: "The police can take measures if members of the public do not comply with this law without a valid exemption and transport operators can deny access to their public transport services if a passenger is not wearing a face covering, or direct them to wear one or leave a service.

"If necessary, the police and Transport for London (TfL) officers have enforcement powers including issuing fines of £100 (halving to £50 if paid within 14 days for the first offence).

Further fines will be handed out to repeat offenders up to a value of £3,200.

Noel Gallagher: “I’m Not A Rock Star. Liam’s A Rock Star”

Needless to say, Gallagher's comments have already attracted a backlash from many people, including pop duo Jedward, who have been campaigning for celebrities to use their platform to encourage mask-wearing.

The twins quoted the classic Oasis tune Wonderwall by tweeting: "Today is gonna be the day @NoelGallagher That we're gonna throw it back to you, by now you should've somehow Realised what you gotta do and Wear a mask because we’re gonna be the ones that save you and after all we’re your Wonderwall"

While Noel's brother Liam Gallagher queried the wisdom of the new "Rule Of Six" that came in on Monday (14 September), the younger Oasis brother also tweeted a photo of himself wearing a face mask.

The post came following comments from The Stone Roses' Ian Brown, who last week tweeted the slogan "NO LOCKDOWN NO TESTS NO TRACKS NO MASKS NO VAX", leading many to criticise him as setting a poor example. He took aim at those who called him a conspiracy theorist by claiming the term was "invented by the lame stream media to discredit those who can smell and see through the government/media lies and propaganda".