Story of Meat Loaf trying to push Prince Andrew into a moat goes viral

A story about Meat Loaf trying to push Prince Andrew into a moat has gone viral following the rock star’s death.

The US singer and actor (real name Marvin Lee Aday) passed away last night (January 20), according to a statement posted on his official Facebook page this morning (January 21). A cause of death is not yet known.

Since the news broke, fans and figures from the world of entertainment have taken to social media to pay tribute and share stories from Meat Loaf’s career.

One story in particular that has garnered a lot of attention is the time he threatened to push Prince Andrew in a moat when he appeared as a contestant on It’s A Royal Knockout in 1987.

The show was a one-off charity event staged on the lakeside lawn of Alton Towers. It featured four teams of celebrities, each captained by a member of the Royal Family, battling it out in a series of games. In one round, for example, the players dressed up as giant vegetables and threw fake hams at each other.

Meat Loaf was on the Duchess of York’s team, and it seemed that Sarah Ferguson was at the centre of tension between the singer and her ex-husband Prince Andrew.

In a 2003 interview with The Guardian, Meat Loaf talked about being in the competition. “It was great fun. I had a great time,” he said. “Fergie wasn’t exactly flirting with me, but she was paying attention to me, and I think Andrew got a little ‒ I could be wrong, I’m just reading into this ‒ I think he got a little jealous.”

He continued: “Anyway, he tried to push me in the water. He tried to push me in the moat. So I turned around and I grabbed him and he goes, ‘You can’t touch me. I’m royal.’ I said, ‘Well, you try to push me in the moat, Jack, I don’t give a shit who you are, you’re goin’ in the moat.’”

Elsewhere in the interview, Meat Loaf was asked about the Queen, to which he simply replied: “Oh, the Queen hates me.”

In addition to the rock star, other celebrities that took part in It’s A Royal Knockout included Cliff Richard, Toyah Willcox, John Travolta, Eddy Grant, John Cleese, Anneka Rice, Chris De Burgh, Gary Lineker, George Lazenby and more.

Prince Andrew is currently at the centre of a civil sex abuse case in which Virginia Giuffre, one of the victims of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has accused the Duke of York of “committing sexual assault and battery” when she was a teenager.

Giuffre has claimed that Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her on three occasions after she was first sex-trafficked by Jefferey Epstein at the age of 16. The prince vehemently denies all the allegations and any wrongdoing.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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