Nigel Farage appears to have paid tribute to disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins, a convicted paedophile, in a video posted to social media where he described him as a “really good guy”.
The video was posted to Cameo, an online platform where fans pay celebrities for personalised video messages, and appeared to show Mr Farage saying that Watkins “loved his children” after he was duped by a prankster who paid him to make the video.
John Smith – who reportedly paid £98 for the video – said he was concerned the Reform leader could not see through his “paper-thin deception”.
The paedophile rock star, who was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences, was stabbed to death at HMP Wakefield last year.
Watkins, 48, was jailed in December 2013 after admitting a string of sex offences – including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby.
Mr Farage has been criticised on social media for the video, with some saying it shows he “can’t be bothered with due diligence”.
In the Cameo video, the Reform leader said: “This message is to pay tribute to Ian Watkins, a good man, a really good guy who was very much in contact with me, who loved his children and will be sorely, sorely missed by them forever.
“And he’ll always have a very special place in everybody’s heart. And remember what he always said, ‘Mad lols’.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, that does just about sum up the world, doesn’t it?
“Sorry for your grief, but please try to keep some happy memories.”
Mr Smith told the Metro: “Getting the video was simplicity itself, I just asked him to do a video on behalf of a late friend called Ian Watkins and his family.
“I am concerned that he could not see through my frankly paper-thin deception and his willingness to do anything for money without even a rudimentary check.”
When he was approached by the Metro about the video, Mr Farage said: “Thank him for the money. There are lots of Ian Watkins. Tell him to send more. I did alter his request.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Mr Farage told The Independent: “Nigel has made thousands of cameos for fans and supporters over many years.
“Unfortunately, a handful of people abuse this by seeking to deceive or prank him.“
In 2013, The Guardian reported that Watkins spoke to a female fan from prison the day after admitting two counts of attempted baby rape, saying he was going to issue a statement when he was sentenced saying it had all been “mega lolz”.
“I’m going to put out a statement on the 18th just to say it was mega lolz. I do not know what everybody is getting so freaked out about,” he said.
Mr Farage regularly films videos for Cameo, often reading out inside jokes for people’s birthdays.
In 2021, he was tricked into reading a message supporting the IRA by tricksters who targeted the controversial personality on the video message site.
The former politician reads out a birthday message and is seen raising his drink and saying “up the RA” in a clip on the video-sharing platform.
Mr Farage told Mail Online at the time: “If I saw ‘up the RA’ I would have looked at that as something very innocent, and wouldn’t have even known there was an implication to it.”
Thousands viewed the latest cameo video on social media, with one person saying: “This just hammers home the fact that he will say anything for money and not bother to do any research into it.”
Another said: “Allegedly smart enough to run the country but not smart enough to google somebody before reading a tribute out on Cameo.”
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