During and after the COVID pandemic, guitarist Eric Clapton made a name for himself by standing up to the tyranny of COVID mandates. In 2021, he refused to play at any venue that enforced vaccine mandates.
“Following the PM’s announcement on Monday, the 19th of July 2021, I feel honor-bound to make an announcement of my own: I wish to say that I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present,” Clapton said at the time.
“Unless there is provision made for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show,” he added.
Now Rolling Stone is knocking Clapton down out of the top ten greatest guitarists of all time, putting him at number 35 not because of his guitar playing, but because of his stance on COVID vaccines and his refusal to discriminate.
Rolling Stone moved Eric Clapton down from the top 10 of greatest guitar players of all time to 35 because he admitted to being Covid "vaccine" injured & refused to discriminate on entry to his concerts based on "vaccine" status. They even admit the reasoning in the explanation! pic.twitter.com/IMS5Z3iyxE
— Robin Monotti (@robinmonotti) May 3, 2026
"These days, nobody really considers Clapton god (his COVID comments clearly rule out any chance of being all-knowing), but that doesn't stop guitarists from worshipping his playing."
I should know because his letter from which the comments were derived was addressed to me, and it was I who published on my Telegram channel with Eric's consent.
— Robin Monotti (@robinmonotti) May 3, 2026
And not too long ago, Clapton was listed as the second best guitarist behind Jimmy Hendrix.
Was just going through a box of old stuff and happened across the guitar issue from 2012. He was literally #2 behind Hendrix. 😂 Idiots. pic.twitter.com/czQwK5HHjP
— Five Times August (@FiveTimesAugust) May 3, 2026
Simply incredible.
When’s the last time you or anyone you know bought a Rolling Stone magazine?
— Angela Belcamino (@AngelaBelcamino) May 3, 2026
They’re irrelevant.
Yes, they are.
And airbrushed terrorists
— John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) May 3, 2026
Never forget that.
It's been fascinating to watch mainstream liberal culture slowly boil every human quality down to politics
— PoIiMath (@politicalmath) May 3, 2026
Is he the greatest guitarist of all time? "Well I can't answer that question until I see their tweets during Covid" https://t.co/whbmMySSVV
One could make an argument about whether or not Clapton deserves to be in the top ten, the top 20, or on the list at all. But that conversation should center around his guitar playing, his musical career, his critical reception, and his commercial successes. Not his stance on COVID.