Kylie Minogue songwriter Mike Stock issued a public apology to fans on Monday after becoming embroiled in a Twitter row about the Black Lives Matter movement and Brexit with a musician who is battling stage four bowel cancer.
The record producer, 68, sparked fury when he appeared to ridicule Delays singer Greg Gilbert by saying ‘You’re still here? Stage 4?’ moments after the cancer sufferer insisted the withdrawal of the UK from the EU poses a risk to him due to a loss of clinical trials.
After being branded ‘vile’ and accused of ‘bullying’, the Stock Aitken Waterman star claimed he ‘never knowingly’ intended to ‘mock anyone with such an illness’, and has attempted to reach out to Greg privately to apologise.
Backlash: Kylie Minogue songwriter Mike Stock (pictured recently) issued a public apology to fans on Monday after becoming embroiled in a Twitter row with a bowel cancer sufferer
Heated: The record producer, 68, sparked fury when he appeared to ridicule Greg Gilbert by saying ‘You’re still here? Stage 4?’ during a Brexit and Black Lives Matter debate
In a statement, Mike said: ‘I would like to clarify for anyone who will see disordered twitter timelines, that I did not know who Greg Gilbert was nor about his illness.
‘Obviously I would never knowingly mock anyone with such an illness – most of us have someone close who has been affected and I am no different.’
The Margate native admitted he failed to do a background check on Greg’s illness, despite it being publicised in the past.
He added: ‘When you’re in the throes of a twitter argument and being called a c*** you don’t have time to google people that you assume to be trolls.
‘Particularly when they are attacking in their hundreds. After finding out who he was and the genuine nature of his condition I wished him well. I never intended to mock or diminish his illness.
Battle: The Delays’ Greg (pictured in 2014) insisted the withdrawal of the UK from the EU poses a risk to him due to a loss of clinical trials
Statement: The Stock Aitken Waterman star claimed he ‘never knowingly’ intended to ‘mock anyone with such an illness’, and has attempted to reach out to Greg privately to apologise
‘It’s pretty low’: The media personality was branded ‘vile’ and accused of ‘bullying’
‘I have tried to find a private contact for Greg but in the meantime if he sees this I hope he considers it a resolution to an obvious misunderstanding.’
Their disagreement started when Mike insisted ‘it’s best to leave people alone to get on with their lives’ in response to a tweet The Beatles star Paul McCartney wrote in support of ‘overcoming racism’ amid the current Black Lives Matter protests.
Mike said: ‘Just some platitudes from the press department. 1964 being so long ago….maybe you’ve got it all wrong.
‘How long do you need to bring about some better world. Best leave people alone to get on wit their lives.’ (sic)
Controversy: Mike initially insisted ‘it’s best to leave people alone to get on with their lives’ in response to a tweet The Beatles star Paul McCartney wrote in support of ‘overcoming racism’
Speaking out: He later reposted a video of controversial commentator Candace Owens describing African-American George Floyd as ‘neither a martyr or a hero’ following his murder
He later reposted a video of controversial commentator Candace Owens describing African-American George Floyd as ‘neither a martyr or a hero’ following his murder by a white police officer, which has sparked protests worldwide.
Greg responded: ‘Didn’t Candace Owens defend Hitler?’, before Mike labelled him an ‘idiot’ and claiming he has ‘poor judgement’.
The renowned artist, who has collaborated with Jason Donovan, Donna Summer and Cliff Richard in the past, later claimed ‘the new world of Brexit and Donald Trump will bite him on the bum’.
Going back and forth, Greg said: ‘Your aggression betrays you Mike. Your wish for Brexit & Trump to somehow bite me, unfortunately, are typical of discussions I’ve had with older conservatives.
Dispute: Greg responded: ‘Didn’t Candace Owens defend Hitler?’, before Mike labelled him an ‘idiot’ and claiming he has ‘poor judgement’
‘Right now you occupy the same position as dj’s who burnt Beatles records – afraid and pining for a mythical bygone age.’
Mike hit back: ‘Absolutely not. It is you who are the reactionary. How does a full no deal Brexit seem to you? Bet you hate it. Bet you are still hoping for remain. Bet you hate Donald Trimp.. Come on…admit it.’ (sic)
His fellow social media user went on to highlight that Brexit could disrupt global clinical trials, and in turn affect his cancer battle, before pointing out that Mike accidentally misspelled the US President’s name.
‘A typing error is different from a grammatical error you can see that, can’t you?’, Mike said, before adding: ‘You have stage 4 cancer.’
Greg replied: ‘I do indeed. Still responding, Im flattered’.
‘You’re still here? Stage 4?’, Mike said as the heated discussion came to a close.
Fellow Twitter users witnessed the exchange and slammed Mike for speaking about Greg’s battle with cancer.
One said: ‘Wow! I honestly can’t believe you’d sink so low as to mock a man fighting stage 4 cancer like that. Or perhaps I could. Music guys from the dark 80s seem to have pretty well known low standards of what’s right and wrong. Vile.’
‘You know him do you?’, an unrepentant Mike said.
He elaborated: ‘He persisted over hours of baiting and tweeting me. So my point is, maybe give it a rest and do something else.
‘I did not feel using his illness, assuming he has one, is a fair reason to cut off my point or a fair way to argue.
‘The argument gets cut off as soon as you say, I’ve got cancer. I don’t know the bloke. I don’t know in any way if he is telling the truth. But that he wanted to continue the argument was clear. I wonder why?
‘Sounded like, after many tweets he threw it into the mix for effect. If he genuinely is ill, and how would I know? But if he is then he has my best wishes.
‘Actually he was bullying me, with his brother. And now you and many others all on the same tack.
‘He accuses a young black American woman of being an apologist for Hitler. Unacceptable. I have been chatting to hundreds of folk today on Twitter. I can’t google them all.
‘Because I don’t know in any real sense, that he has. Why did it need to come into his argument. Sounded odd to me.’
Disappointed users of the micro-blogging site criticised Mike for his approach, as they said: ‘Really? Perhaps there might have been a better way of putting it, because it reads like you’re mocking someone you have had a bit of an online debate with for having cancer – which is pretty low.
‘It reads as if you were both enjoying engaging in a debate – not that he was pursuing it anymore than him. Why did you mention his cancer twice? What point were you trying to make?’
‘He does [have cancer]. It’s well documented by me and many other journalists. A quick google would have done it, actually. I still don’t understand why you repeated it. It read like bullying.’
Greg, the lead singer of British indie band Delays, was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in 2016 at the age of 39.
Greg set up the crowdfunding campaign to raise £100,000 for him to travel overseas to undergo urgent treatment that she says was not available on the NHS.
The father-of-two got the diagnosis on his youngest daughter’s first birthday and also learned that the cancer had already spread to his lungs.
The Delays were formed in Southampton in 2001 and its current members are brothers Greg and Aaron Gilbert, and Colin Fox and Rowley.
They have seen two of their four studio albums reach the top 30 in the UK Albums Chart, with their debut record Faded Seaside Glamour hit number 17 in 2004.