Rod Stewart has issued an apology for starring in a video that appears to make fun of ISIS-led executions.
(There"s a sentence we did not expect to write today.)
In the controversial footage, Stewart, his wife Penny and some friends are hiking in the desert outside Abu Dhabi.
When they reach the top of a sand dune, one of the members of this party kneels down in front of Stewart, who then pretends to chop the man"s head off.
It"s rather shocking and disturbing to witness.
Shared online by Penny, the video was deleted not long after raising the ire of many people on the Internet.
In light of this understandable backlash, Stewart has released a mea culpa that reads as follows:
"From re-enacting the Beatles" Abbey Road crossing to spontaneously playing out Game Of Thrones, we were simply larking about pre-show.
"Understandably, this has been misinterpreted and I send my deepest apologies to those who have been offended."
Some critics don"t believe this is enough, however.
They are calling for Stewart to be stripped of his Knighthood, which he was awarded in 2016. (See photo below.)
Former hostage John McCarthy, for example, told BBC Radio that the artist had turned "a grotesque thing into a kind of pantomime."
The journalist – who was kidnapped in Lebanon in 1986 – added that it was unclear whether Stewart was "larking about" or even realized what he was doing. Or how it might be interpreted.
Watch the video below and then share your opinion on it:
