Morrissey, Kimmel Feud, Singer Releases Statement Responding To Duck Dynasty Controversy

Morrissey and Jimmy Kimmel have been feuding all week since the pro-animal rights singer canceled an appearance on the late night chat show over the appearance of the dudes from Duck Dynasty.

The Morrissey Kimmel feud started when the singer declined to appear as scheduled on Jimmy’s show when he learned he would be appearing alongside the guys from Duck Dynasty — no massive surprise given the British musician has been a longtime animal rights activist and penned the song “Meat Is Murder” nearly 30 years ago.

Morrissey explained in a polite statement that he was grateful for Kimmel’s invitation but could not morally reconcile the appearance, adding:

“As far as my reputation is concerned, I can’t take the risk of being on a show alongside people who, in effect, amount to animal serial killers.”

The star continues:

“If Jimmy cannot dump Duck Dynasty then we must step away.”

In response to Morrissey’s statement, Kimmel — as is his habit — ragged on the singer in some cheap shots, joking that the former Smiths frontman “keeps finding new ways to depress us” before mocking vegans in a Duck Dynasty clip that, like, wasn’t even at all funny.

Morrissey struck out at Kimmel in a statement about the tepid monologue, saying:

“I was disappointed with last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Show wherein our smiling host managed to ridicule depression (70% of Americans have experienced depression according to the National Institute of Mental Health). He then found time to ridicule healthy eating (the obesity epidemic in the U.S. costs $147 billion per year in medical expenditure), and he also ridiculed the notion that animals should be entitled to the possession of their own lives.”

Morrissey continues:

“Furthermore, he found time to jokingly promote gun-ownership – hugely amusing for the parents at Sandy Hook, no doubt. He also promoted his special guests Duck Dynasty – who kill beings for fun. None of the above issues are, of course, as important as Jimmy Kimmel himself, who has finally revealed his show to have an overwhelming loss of meaning. Tune in and relive the intellectual fog of the 1950s.”

Kimmel shot back at Morrissey when the statement was released, embedding a pic of Morrissey’s “You Are The Quarry” album cover and tweeting:

note to Morrissey – if you have more dumb statements to make, I invite you to make them where I do, on my show twitter.com/jimmykimmel/st…

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) February 27, 2013

Morrissey has not yet responded to Kimmel’s tweet.