HE never fears speaking his mind – and Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten is likely to have choice words about the screening date of a new drama about the band.
The anarchist turned monarchist is set to be enraged by the show airing just before The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, due to the anti-royal sentiments the band voiced.
Johnny — real name John Lydon — has already expressed his hatred of the biopic, which is being made by Trainspotting director Danny Boyle.
Disney+ will now launch the six-parter on May 31 — two days before the start of official celebrations marking Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne.
A TV insider said: “This will only pour salt on the wound for Johnny, who has been unhappy that the drama was being made in the first place.
“The timing of its airing will be particularly enraging given the band were famous for their 1977 track God Save The Queen, which slated the Royal Family and branded them a ‘fascist regime’.
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“He is now a fervent supporter of Her Majesty and doesn’t want the offending track to be used any more.”
Johnny intervened three years ago when creators of Netflix royal drama The Crown tried to use the Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen on the show.
The track was going to be heard when the series reached the 1977 Silver Jubilee — the same year the track was released, shocking traditionalists with its anti-royal theme.
The drama stars Anson Boon as Johnny, Jacob Slater as drummer Paul Cook, Louis Partridge as bassist Sid Vicious and Toby Wallace as guitarist Steve Jones, whose 2017 memoir, Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol, is the basis for the series.
