Producer apologizes for Auto-Tune comments after Adele tells him to suck her dick

When someone is a famous musician who built a career on emotional “fuck you” ballads, maybe it’s a good idea to avoid saying things that will make that famous musician mad at you. Longtime David Bowie producer Tony Visconti learned that lesson recently when he found himself on Adele’s bad side after he made some comments about how most of today’s biggest singers use Auto-Tune to manipulate their voices. Speaking with The Daily Star, Visconti said, “we know Adele has a great voice but it’s even questionable if that is actually her voice or how much has been manipulated,” later adding that modern pop is “so perfect it’s boring.”

Word of this quickly reached Adele, who told her fans during a concert that “some dickhead” had suggested that it wasn’t her real voice on her albums. To this dickhead (who we know as Tony Visconti), Adele had a simple, pretty badass response: “Dude, suck my dick.” There’s even video if this happening, but it’s hard to hear her over the people who somehow think this is a good time to yell things.

Now, Visconti has walked back his comments and apologized—even if it’s more of a “sorry you got offended” apology than an actual “I’m sorry” apology. In a statement released to Billboard, Visconti explained that his comment has been “misconstrued” and that he shouldn’t have to “apologize for something taken the wrong way.” He says, “if Adele has taken my comments as offensive that was certainly not my intent,” adding that she “has a great voice and it brings pleasure to millions.” In other words, he’s not saying that she doesn’t use Auto-Tune, he’s saying that people like her songs and that he didn’t mean to make her mad. That’s almost an apology.