Bob Dylan calls George Floyd death "beyond ugly"

Bob Dylan has discussed the death of George Floyd in a rare new interview.

Speaking to The New York Times, Dylan discussed his new album ‘Rough & Rowdy Ways’ as well as the impact of the coronavirus, and the death of Floyd, which has sparked worldwide Black Lives Matter protests.

During the interview, Dylan said that it “sickened me no end to see George tortured to death like that,” adding: “It was beyond ugly. Let”s hope that justice comes swift for the Floyd family and for the nation.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Dylan stated his belief that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is “a forerunner of something else to come,” saying: “Extreme arrogance can have some disastrous penalties.

Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan CREDIT: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for ABA

“Maybe we are on the eve of destruction. There are numerous ways you can think about this virus. I think you just have to let it run its course.”

Dylan’s new album ‘Rough & Rowdy Ways’ comes out next week (June 19), and has been preceded by singles ‘I Contain Multitudes’,  ‘False Prophet’ and the 17-minute epic about the assassination of JFK, ‘Murder Most Foul’.

Reviewing ‘False Prophet’, NME said that the song signalled that the new album “will be a late-career high point”.







George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last month has sparked a series of worldwide anti-racist protests under the Black Lives Matter banner.

Read NME’s guide on how to support Black Lives Matter and anti-racist organisations if you can’t protest.