The Sex Pistols famously mocked and insulted Queen Elizabeth II on their hit single “God Save The Queen,” so it was news when the surviving members commented on her death last week. The most reverent of those statements came from John Lydon, the vocalist formerly known as Johnny Rotten, who wrote, “Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth II. Send her victorious.”

Today, Lydon released a statement on his website condemning efforts by his ex-bandmates to cash in on the Queen’s death. It’s unclear which efforts he is referring to. Here is the statement:

John Lydon wishes to distance himself from any Sex Pistols activity which aims to cash in on Queen Elizabeth II’s death. The musicians in the band and their management have approved a number of requests against John’s wishes on the basis of the majority court-ruling agreement.

In John’s view, the timing for endorsing any Sex Pistols requests for commercial gain in connection with ‘God Save The Queen’ in particular is tasteless and disrespectful to the Queen and her family at this moment in time.

John wrote the lyrics to this historical song, and while he has never supported the monarchy, he feels that the family deserves some respect in this difficult time, as would be expected for any other person or family when someone close to them has died.

In response, a spokesman for Steve Jones and Paul Cook offered this statement to Blabbermouth: “We cannot understand what he would be referring to. Other than a couple requests for use of imagery or audio in news reports on The Queen and her impact on culture, there’s nothing new relating to ‘God Save The Queen’ being promoted or released in any way.”