Did Pete Townsend from The Who say Bruce Springsteen should "shut up and play" in May 2025? No, that's not true: The fabricated quotation originated on a Facebook page that describes its content as satirical. Earlier in the month, Springsteen criticized President Donald Trump on stage at a concert in Manchester, England.
The fake quotation appeared in a May 21, 2025, post on X (archived here). The meme consisted of a photo of Townsend, the lead vocalist of The Who, and the following text:
Rock legend Pete Townsend of The Who says Bruce Springsteen ruined everyone's night when he brough politics to the stage.
"He's a bit overrated to begin with. He's the kind of bloke who should just shut up and play."
This is what it looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot)
That quotation was fabricated and originated in a May 19, 2025, post on America's Last Line of Defense, a Facebook page that is part of a network of social media pages and websites, including the Dunning-Kruger Times. That website contains the following disclaimer:
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.
A Google News search for the words "Townsend" and "Springsteen" yielded no relevant entries, further demonstrating that there was not even an accidental factual basis to the claim.
Springsteen made a series of political comments during a concert in Manchester, England on May 14, calling Trump "unfit" and describing his administration as "corrupt, incompetent and treasonous".
Trump responded with a post on Truth Social, calling Springsteen "highly overrated", "a pushy, obnoxious jerk", and "dumb as a rock".
