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Singer punches old woman in 'Candy' video
by Grace Carroll | Photos by WENN
Tags: Robbie Williams
The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) are calling for Robbie Williams to apologise for comments he made on The Graham Norton Show.
Robbie's new 'Candy' video shows him at one point punching an elderly woman, which led Graham Norton to comment on the scene.
Norton said to Robbie, "That's quite a shocking image, isn't it?"
Robbie responded by saying, "'It is, isn't it. They wanted me to kick a dog and I'm an animal lover, so I was just not having that. Then they said 'punch a pensioner' and I was like, 'Yeah, I'm in'."
The comment drew outrage from activists at the NPC convention, who criticised Robbie for making light of the situation.
NPC general secretary Dot Gibson says: "Celebrities should think twice before making ageist comments which seem to imply that pensioners should be treated in a degrading way.
"Elder abuse is a serious issue and needs to be tackled rather than seen as a bit of a joke. We need to be uniting the generations, not suggesting that they are different. Pensioners are just young people who grew older."
Neil Duncan-Jordan, National Officer of the organisation, said: "A number of our members have complained to us about the comment, hence our decision to respond. The remark has to be taken in the context of where we are today, with the almost weekly reports of elder abuse.
"There are certain things now which are so important and have ridden up the political agenda, and this needs to be taken seriously. It's all about the context in which it was used; the phrase was probably ironic, but it just gives the wrong impression that animals are to be treated with greater respect than older people."
A representative for Robbie says: ''Robbie Williams does not condone violence in any way; the plot for this particular video did involve some aggressive scenes but they in no way reflect his views on violence in real life.
"He was playing a particular role in the video."
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Tags: Robbie Williams
