Rod Stewart Defends Support of Ukraine After Being Booed
Rod Stewart stands by his dedication to Ukraine he has added to his shows, despite being booed for it during a recent show in Germany.
In Stewart’s show, he dedicates his performance of his 1991 hit “Rhythm of My Heart” to the people of Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky. However, during his June 14 show in Leipzig, Germany, Stewart was booed when he closed the performance by saluting a photo of Zelensky. Fan-shot footage of the moment can be seen below.
Despite being booed, Stewart stands by honoring Ukraine. He told U.K. wire service PA News, “I have supported the Ukrainian people throughout this war. From arranging for members of my family to take supplies to the country, to renting a house in the UK for a Ukrainian family… So yes, I do support Zelensky and the people of Ukraine, and I will continue to do so.”
Stewart further noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin “must be stopped.”
Stewart Being More “Political”
Sir Rod has never been very open about politics in his legendary career, but in recent years, he’s been more forthcoming about his opinions.
A prime example of this happened in January 2023. Stewart called into a British television program to express his frustration over the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) having massive waiting lists for patients in need of hospital treatment scans. Despite being a longtime supporter of the U.K.’s Conservative Party (aka: Tories), he was in disbelief in how they were running the NHS. He was especially frustrated since he was able to go to a private healthcare facility to obtain a scan, and the facility was “empty.”
“I personally have been a Tory for a long time but I think this government should stand out now and give the Labour party a go at it, because this is heartbreaking for the nurses,” said Stewart.
Sir Rod added, “I would like to pay for 10 or 20 scans, or however much it takes … There are people dying because they cannot get scans. I don’t need the publicity. I just want to do some good things and this, I think, it’s a good thing, because if other people follow me, I’d love it.”
Stewart then visited Princess Alexandra Hospital the next month and paid for an entire day of scans at the NHS facility. The Guardian spoke with Stephanie Lawton, the chief operating officer of the hospital. She said Stewart coming in and paying out of pocket for the scans of 20 patients helped reduce their waiting list by 10%. Lawton added, “Rod’s a local resident, we’re his local hospital, we’re really delighted to be working with him and his team for the benefit of patients and doing everything we can to reduce the waiting lists.”
Stewart shared with the outlet, “If this is a big success, which I think it will be, I’d like to do it in Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, and just keep it going, and hope some other people follow me.”