If it weren’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian rocker Bryan Adams would have been performing his greatest hits at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Instead, he’s hunkered down at home. And he’s mad as hell. Good thing he can take it out on social media. On Monday (May 11), Adams, 60, posted a video of himself playing his 1983 hit ‘Cuts Like a Knife on guitar on Instagram.

The man can still hold a tune but it’s the caption accompanying the video that’s raising eyebrows. He wrote: “Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the Royal Albert Hall, but thanks to some f***ing bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus.

“My message to them other than ‘thanks a f***ing lot’ is go vegan.

“To all the people missing out on our shows, I wish I could be there more than you know. It’s been great hanging out in isolation with my children and family, but I miss my other family, my band, my crew and my fans. Take care of yourselves and hope we can get the show on the road again soon.”

By the sound of it, Adams is blaming the global health crisis on the wet markets in Wuhan, China, which many believe were the original source of the COVID-19. (In the part where he mentions “virus making”, is he referring to the Wuhan lab where the coronavirus was created?)

By singling out China, Adams’s rant has been called by many Netizens as racist and xenophobic. Adams has since deleted his comments on Twitter but they can still be viewed on his Instagram account.

Here are some of the Netizens' reactions to Adams' tirade.