The opening ceremony of the much-anticipated FIFA World Cup which is taking place in Russia was full of exciting moments. It featured a welcome speech from the Russian President Vladimir Putin, dancing, singing and… British singer Robbie Williams flipping his middle finger to about 6 billion people on live TV. However, it seems that Fox has already apologized for that gesture through a spokesperson, on Thursday. According to them, this worldwide event was produce by a third party and only broadcasted live on Fox. They did not know what was going to happen during Williams’ performance and apologized to everyone who may have felt offended by that gesture.
Robbie Williams performed live on the field of the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, right before the opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia started. This match kicked off the World Cup which is scheduled to end on July 15. This opening ceremony apparently did not air in the United Kingdom, but it most likely did all over the world, including the United States. It seems that Fox and Telemundo own the English and Spanish language rights for this year’s World Cup.
Robbie Williams shows his middle finger during World Cup performance
Middle finger to 6 billion people 😂😂😂#RobbieWilliams https://t.co/mXnkqZ19hr
— ViPeR Tha VillaiN (@Brendon_CG) June 14, 2018
Robbie Williams’ gesture was very hard to miss and looked intentional as he did it right in front of the camera that was filming him up close. He was singing his hit single Rock DJ when the controversial moment happened. Moreover, Williams appeared to have changed the lyrics too into something along the lines of “I did this for free”. Immediately after singing this, he flipped the bird.
Apart from this, he even looked at the giant screen above to see if his gesture was caught on camera. Probably to reassure himself that everyone saw it perfectly. Robbie Williams is the rumored new judge on the upcoming seasons of UK’s The X-Factor.
Image source: flickr