Rod Stewart isn’t holding back.
The legendary rocker just gave King Charles III a piece of his mind about President Donald Trump — and it was pretty awkward for the monarch.
Stewart’s interaction with Charles took place on Monday, May 11, during The King’s Trust’s 50th Anniversary Celebration at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Rod Stewart and King Charles, pictured here in January 2025, had an awkward interaction at an event this week. By: James Whatling/MEGA
In a now-deleted video shared on X (the post itself is still up) by Daily Mail royal correspondent Rebecca English and seen by People, Stewart could be heard telling the king, “May I say, well done in the Americas. You were superb. Absolutely superb. You put that little rat bag in his place.”
The musician was seemingly referring to how Charles handled his recent official visit to the U.S. and his dealings with Trump.
According to People, the king didn’t directly respond to Stewart, though people around the two men giggled at the singer’s words.
Members of the British royal family have to stay carefully neutral on political issues, as not to interfere with their country’s government. Therefore, Charles couldn’t have commented publicly on what Stewart said to him, making the situation a difficult one for him to navigate.
On X, English dubbed this a “slightly tricky moment.”
Stewart was previously friendly with President Trump before he took office, but has recently been candid about his views on him.
In a January 2026 video, Stewart said, “Hi there, I may just be a humble rock star. I’m also a knight of the realm. And I have my opinions. I was born just after the war and I have great respect for our armed forces that fought and gave us our freedom. So it hurts me badly, deeply when I read that the draft dodger Trump has criticized our troops in Afghanistan for not being on the front line. We lost over 400 of our guys. Think of their parents. Think about it. And Trump calls them almost like cowards. It’s unbearable. So I’m calling on you, Prime Minister Starmer and Farage, please make the draft dodger Trump apologize, please.”
The British musician was referring to the following comments Trump made in January about Nato troops: “We’ve never needed them … They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan … and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the frontlines” (via The Guardian).
Stewart is one of dozens of celebrities to publicly condemn Trump’s politics and actions, including Robert De Niro, Miley Cyrus, Octavia Spencer, America Ferrera and many, many more.