'Gordon Ramsay can stick his head in his microwave': former Smiths star Morrissey donates payout from Channel 4 to anti-foie gras campaign

The singer has donated £10,000 after a pay-off by Channel 4, which used one of his songs without permission in an advert for a Gordon Ramsay show

Morrissey (Getty Images)

Morrissey has donated £10,000 to an anti-foie gras campaign after being paid the money by Channel 4, which had used one of his songs without permission in an advert for a Gordon Ramsay show.

The former Smiths singer, who is a prominent vegetarian, has backed a campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) opposing the sale of the luxury food at Fortnum & Mason in central London.

He said: “Ramsay may very well stick his head in his microwave when he hears that the money I received from Channel 4 because one of my songs was used to promote his Christmas show is being donated to Peta to fight foie gras. Foie gras is so cruelly produced that he'd be against it if he had an ethical bone in his body.”

The group said its campaign would be “funded entirely” by the donation, which was made after the broadcaster used the Smiths song 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' in an advertisement for Gordon Ramsay's Christmas Cookalong Live in 2011.

Morrissey, who released an album with The Smiths called Meat Is Murder, has previously given some of the proceeds from ticket sales to the charity, which campaigns against animal cruelty.

He famously left the stage at California's Coachella Festival four years ago after complaining about the smell of burgers, telling the crowd he could smell “burning flesh”.

Foie gras is made with geese and ducks being force-fed grain before they are slaughtered for their swollen livers.

A spokesman for Fortnum & Masons said: “Foie gras is sold in shops throughout the UK, and is used in many top restaurants. We do understand that it is not to some people's taste, and we respect their right to make their feelings known.

“However, foie gras has been on sale at Fortnum's down the centuries, and a sizeable number of our customers enjoy it. We believe they should have the freedom to choose whether to buy it or not.”

PA