Eric Clapton has been quite vocal about his COVID-19 stances, appearing on anti-lockdown songs with Van Morrison and seeking out venues that don’t require masks or proof of vaccination for his recent performances. Clapton has already drawn public criticism from Queen’s Brian May, and a new report in The Washington Post shows that some of Clapton’s friends and collaborators are similarly perplexed as to his recent sentiments.

Clapton’s COVID-19 views led legendary blues guitarist Robert Cray to drop out of the rocker’s US tour. After Clapton released “Stand And Deliver” with Van Morrison, whose lyrics compared lockdown to slavery, Cray reportedly got into a “heated email exchange” (per Rolling Stone) with Clapton, which led to Cray deciding not to do the tour.

And when Clapton wanted to sing “Stand And Deliver” for his The Lady In The Balcony: Lockdown Sessions live recording, which was recorded during lockdown this year, the session’s producer Russ Titelman nearly walked out, but stayed after the label put a stop to it being performed on that particular album.

More details are available in the Washington Post article.