MOSCOW (CelebrityAccess) — British pop star Robbie Williams caused some pearl-clutching after he flipped the bird at television cameras during his performance at the World Cup opening ceremony on Thursday.
Williams, 44, was performing at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow when he extended his middle finger in a singular salute to a cameraman filming the affair.
While it’s not clear why he chose to offer the obscene gesture to the millions of soccer fans watching the show, it may be related to censorship.
According to ESPN, Williams said he was asked not to perform his song “Party Like A Russian,” which some Russian media outlets have suggested mocks the nation’s oligarchs.
Williams offensive gesture may also be linked to the recent revelations that Russians meddled with the ‘Brexit’ vote last year that will see Britain divorce itself from the larger European Union.
Or maybe he was just tired of having the camera stuck into his face by an aggressive cameraman.
Whatever the reason, the performer was unavailable for comment.
Williams stuck to his more anodyne hit songs for the show, performing “Let Me Entertain You” and “Rock DJ” for the World Cup audience.
The World Cup games kicked off Thursday and will see 64 matches played in 11 different cities across the nation of Russia. It’s the first time the World Cup has been held in Eastern Europe.
Robbie Williams doing Robbie Williams things haha 😂 perfect start to the #worldcup . pic.twitter.com/Te7hAKtIGC
— Andres Soto (@Andres_Soto_7) June 14, 2018
