REM's Michael Stipe slams US government

REM frontman Michael Stipe has slammed the current US government, describing the American administration as "despicable".

Stipe referred to the US government's reaction to the September 11 bombings in New York in 2001 to back up his comments, suggesting that they used the incident to further their own means.

"This American administration is despicable," he told The Sun's Something For The Weekend. "In 1973 I didn't realise it would be a big deal that a black man and a woman are running for President.

"I didn't get the future I wanted and was promised. It didn't happen because globally we have these people who are pulling us backwards for their own reasons.

"I want something more progressive. What will this decade represent when historians look back at the first decade of the 21st century? They're going to look at my government's over-reaction to 9/11 and how they used that to their own greedy end. How sad is that?"