AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has slammed US rocker Meat Loaf, after the singer expressed some harsh words during an interview with Billboard last week. Speaking to the US industry bible, Meat Loaf called the AFL the “cheapest people” he’s ever seen.
Meat Loaf infamously served as the pre-match entertainment for the 2011 AFL Grand Final, a shambolic performance which saw the rock veteran failing to hit the high notes and mumbling through a 12-minute medley of his most famous hits.
The performance was savaged by the media and the public, with some fans asking the AFL to stop rolling out “imported has-beens” for pre-match entertainment and some suggesting the rocker should return his $600,000 performance fee or donate it to charity.
However, speaking to Billboard last week, Meat Loaf revealed that his lacklustre performance was the result of a vocal cord haemorrhage he experienced during his 2011 Australian tour, which saw him “spitting blood every night on stage”.
“I gave those people everything I had and more,” he said of the AFL. “I had flown 44 people to Australia, we’re all sitting there. Insurance wouldn’t cover the band and everybody going back, so I just said, ‘OK, let’s go.’”
“I thought it was like half-time in the middle of a field, which I’ve done for NFL and World Football League finals, the other Rugby league final, which was all at halftime, with fireworks,” the rocker continued.
“These were the cheapest people I’ve ever seen in my life. They said, ‘we’re gonna have 100 motorcycles’. They had three.” But despite the singer’s explanation, AFL chief Gillon McLachlan thinks the organisation was more than generous towards the singer.
As Fairfax reports, on Friday McLachlan told 3AW that the singer was overpaid, saying, “When you look at the money he [Meat Loaf] got paid for what he produced I think we’re the most generous group in the world.”
“He probably got, I don’t know, half a million bucks or something, and it was probably about $499,000 too much.” Meat Loaf has since taken to Facebook to apologise for his statements, addressing the post to the AFL, its fans, and his own.
Opening the post with a quick recount of Australia’s importance in his career, Meat Loaf writes, “I want to now make an apology for any angry or harsh words I have made towards the Australian Football League, their fans and the people of Australia. I am truly sorry.”
“I can’t take it back. It happened and I am truly sorry. I have learned one lesson from now on, no matter what happens or when it happens. There is only one person to blame and that is myself. Stand like a man and say I am sorry.”
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“I may never see you again and I can never repay what the people of Australia have given to me. I betrayed your trust, I apologise for any feelings that I have hurt. My behavior was extremely inappropriate, immature, and lacked the respect for the people of Australia and the [AFL].”
“Again, I am sorry for my actions and I hope that we can put this matter behind us.”
