Morrissey
Morrissey issued a response to claims that former bodyguard Bradley Steyn was asked to harm fan David Tseng. Reuters

Probably the least likely pop star to end up on TMZ, Morrissey managed the feat amid claims that he wanted to turn his bodyguard Bradley Steyn into a hitman. On Wednesday, the singer denied the accusation that he hired Steyn to murder David Tseng, a fan he supposedly despised.

The former Smiths frontman took to his fansite “True to You,” where he published a long statement on the controversy.

"I am aware of the false story he has placed on various news sites wherein he claims I asked him to 'hurt' (kill?) David Tseng," Morrissey said, in part. "Although Steyn's story lends itself to its own ridicule, I feel I must say to those who have not yet worked it out, that the story is a vexatious lie."

The English singer started out the post by acknowledging he was “aware” of Steyn as an acquaintance. Morrissey wrote he knew Steyn was from South Africa and lived in Los Angeles, but didn’t claim to actually know him personally. “My personal involvement with him has been zero, and he has certainly never been head of security on any Morrissey tour,” the singer said.

In the extensive statement, Morrissey attacked Steyn, as well as Tseng. "The shabby truth of this drama is that Bradley Steyn has been trying to extract money from what he terms 'The Morrissey tour,' and he has failed,” he wrote. “As mildly irritating as David Tseng may be, he is not someone who troubles me enough to even bother with."

According to Rollingstone.com, Steyn slapped Morrissey with a lawsuit after he claimed the singer hired him as a bodyguard after fans rushed him on stage during a concert in San Jose, California. But things apparently escalated and Steyn claimed Morrissey asked if he would harm the webmaster of a fansite where Tseng has apparently had words with the singer. Steyn said he was asked by Morrissey’s tour manager to get rid of Tseng. Steyn claimed he refused and was fired the next day.

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