Morrissey may be saying, “Hold the MSG,” after this.
The “Meat is Murder” rock star thanked Madison Square Garden onstage for going “cruelty-free” and agreeing to his demand that it not serve meat products during his Saturday-night concert there — apparently unaware that some in the audience were munching on brisket sliders and sushi.
While the vast majority of ticket holders were stuck with veggie dogs thanks to the staunch animal-rights activist’s edict that the Garden go meat-free for his performance, those watching from corporate suites were treated to a spread that included meatball sandwiches, chicken fingers and spicy tuna rolls.
Brooklyn resident Jessica Pearson, who was invited to a suite by a friend, said they were shocked to find the meat-fest awaiting them.
“We assumed vegan offerings would be given to us, as well,” she said. “Everybody in attendance was surprised.”
The carnivorous spread included a bevy of offerings that Morrissey — who threatened to pull out of the booking until the Garden agreed to go vegan — wouldn’t approve of, like brisket sliders from the Hill Country eatery chain, “house-made” meatball sandwiches and a cheese platter.
The Garden said Monday that the luxury-box gaffe was a simple “oversight.”
“We changed the menu in the public areas for the show on Saturday night and didn’t make the same changes in the private areas,” it said in a statement.
“This was an oversight and will be fixed the next time.”
Pearson, 33, isn’t vegetarian, so she happily helped herself to the meatier offerings.
But Morrissey’s meat-free militancy did make her reconsider her carnivorous ways, she said.
Toward the end of his show, the former Smiths frontman performed the band’s 1985 song “Meat is Murder” as graphic video from slaughterhouses played on screen.
“I might consider [becoming a vegetarian] after watching it,” Pearson said.
One of Pearson’s friends sampled a vegan dog from one of the few open concession stands.
“They were supposedly very good,” she said.
Morrissey did not respond to requests for comment.