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THE SCOOP | Crooning Prime Minister Causes Social Media Furor

By Ludwig Van on September 19, 2022

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, taken April 23, 2020 (Photo: Courtesy of the PM's Office, used under a )
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, taken April 23, 2020 (Photo: Courtesy of the PM’s Office, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license)

A video of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau singing in a swank hotel lounge has caused a social media uproar. Trudeau was in London, UK for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, and the video shows him singing the Queen (the band, not the monarch) song “Bohemian Rhapsody” in the lobby of the Corinthia Hotel.

The luxury spa hotel is located within walking distance of Trafalgar Square, with room starting at about $1,600 CAD. At the piano was musician and recording artist Gregory Charles, a recipient of the Order of Canada. Charles was there as part of the Canadian delegation, which also included fellow members of the Order of Canada actress Sandra Oh, former Olympian Mark Tewksbury, and Cross of Valour recipient Leslie Arthur Palmer.

Social media commentators immediately jumped on the video after it was posted with a reference to Trudeau’s past as a drama teacher, a favourite talking point among the PM’s detractors.

Speculation over when exactly the video was taken ranges from months before at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to the evening before the funeral. Most media sources now seem to have settled on “days before the funeral”. It’s also not clear who took the video. The original poster claimed erroneously that the video was recorded at the Savoy Hotel.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement to Global News on September 18.

“After dinner on Saturday, (the) Prime Minister joined a small gathering with members of the Canadian delegation, who have come together to pay tribute to the life and service of Her Majesty,” Global News quotes a spokesperson for the Prime Minister.

Apparently, Gregory began to play the piano in the hotel lobby, and several people sang along with him, including the Prime Minister.

It being social media, fuzziness over the facts has not prevented a wave of Twitter users from entering the debate on all sides. Is it disrespectful to the late Queen? Is it nothing? Is it…awesome?

Takeaway…

If you’re Prime Minister, you can’t sing like no one’s listening.

#LUDWIGVAN

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Ludwig Van
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