John Lydon has released another tirade against FX’s new Sex Pistols series, Pistol, after its official trailer was shared earlier this month.
In a statement on Lydon’s website, a representative wrote that they were under the impression that the series would focus on guitarist Steve Jones, and not the band as a whole
“Going by the trailer it doesn’t seem to be the case,” the statement reads.
“John’s ‘likeness’ is clearly being used to sell this series, a series he was not involved in, and was put together behind his back. Putting words in John’s mouth and rewriting history. A middle class fantasy.
“Disney has stolen the past and created a fairytale, which bears little resemblance to the truth.”
The statement ends: “It would be funny if it wasn’t tragic.”
The Independent has contacted FX for comment.
Lydon has been a vocal critic of the series, overseen by Danny Boyle, since its inception. In August last year, Lydon lost a court case against his former bandmates over the use of their music in the series.
Jones and drummer Paul Cook challenged Lydon’s attempt to block the use of their music, citing a band agreement made in 1998, which stated that decisions about licensing requests could be determined on a “majority rules basis”.
Lydon gave a statement at the time saying: “I am the lead singer and songwriter, front man, image, the lot, you name it. I put it there. How is that not relevant? It is dumbfounding to me. It is so destructive to what the band is and so I fear that the whole project might be extremely negative.”
Pistol is based on Steve Jones‘ memoir Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol and stars Toby Wallace as Jones, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Anson Boon as John Lydon and Christian Lees as Glen Matlock.
The Independent has contacted Disney+ for comment.
Pistol premieres on Disney+ on 31 May.
