Robbie Williams has shut down any claims he was “off his nut” at the World Cup final following an on-screen blunder in which a small white object fell out of his mouth and onto his microphone.
The “Rock DJ” singer, 52, had performed alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Laura Pausini at the closing ceremony on Sunday (19 July) – and when he appeared on German TV channel Magenta Sport afterwards, he accidentally spat out the object while talking. He then picked it up and rubbed it onto his head, where it stuck to his skin.
After the clip went viral on social media, with many questioning what the object was, Williams shared a video on Instagram clarifying that it was a mint. He’s now spoken out further on the furore, revealing it was specifically a Nicorette lozenge and calling it “the most me thing I’ve ever done”.
The singer continued: “Now the internet has another thing it’ll be 100 per cent certain happened. ‘Remember when Robbie was off his nut at the World Cup?’ I wasn’t. I’m not. And I haven’t been for a very long time.”
Williams said that “the funniest part” was how he proclaimed to Scherzinger and Pausini after completing their performance: “No one died and I didn’t cause an international incident. We did it!
“Cue someone saying, ‘Will you come and do this little interview? It won’t take long.’ Me being me is very on brand. See you at the next misunderstanding.”
The singer said he’s “managed not to read too many comments, which is probably why I’m finding the whole thing genuinely funny”, adding: “It wouldn’t feel right if I appeared on the world stage and absolutely nothing weird happened. One and a half billion people were watching.”
The final between Argentina and Spain featured an 11-minute spectacle with stars from around the world, including Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Justin Bieber.
The show also featured an appearance from Muppets characters Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. Fifa extended the half-time interval of the match from the customary 15 minutes to more than 27 minutes.
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Former England forward Wayne Rooney, who was at the New York New Jersey Stadium working as a BBC pundit alongside Joe Hart and Micah Richards, did not hold back when asked for his highlights of the show by presenter Gabby Logan.
“I’ll be honest, mine was when it finished. I like a lot of them artists but I thought it was crap,” he said.
