John Lydon has distanced himself from the Sex Pistols after accusing them of aiming to “cash in” on the Queen’s death.

In a thread shared on Twitter, Lydon’s band Public Image Ltd explained the former Pistols singer disavows any alleged activity linked to the band’s 1977 single ‘God Save The Queen’ which has gone ahead.

“John Lydon wishes to distance himself from any Sex Pistols activity which aims to cash in on Queen Elizabeth II’s death,” the statement began. “The musicians in the band and their management have approved a number of requests against John’s wishes on the basis of the majority court-ruling agreement.”

Acknowledging the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the potential connection to the controversial song, they continued: “In John’s view, the timing for endorsing any Sex Pistols requests for commercial gain in connection with ‘God Save The Queen’ in particular is tasteless and disrespectful to the Queen and her family at this moment in time.

“John wrote the lyrics to this historical song, and while he has never supported the monarchy, he feels that the family deserves some respect in this difficult time, as would be expected for any other person or family when someone close to them has died.”

John Lydon wishes to distance himself from any Sex Pistols activity which aims to cash in on Queen Elizabeth II's death. The musicians in the band and their management have approved a number of requests against John's wishes on the basis of the majority court-ruling agreement. pic.twitter.com/YB3TLlCmP6

— Public Image Ltd (@pilofficial) September 15, 2022

A Sex Pistols spokesperson responded to Lydon’s claims in a statement to Deadline, reading: “We cannot understand what he would be referring to. Other than a couple requests for use of imagery or audio in news reports on The Queen and her impact on culture, there’s nothing new relating to ‘God Save The Queen’ being promoted or released in any way.”

John Lydon initially shared the same portrait of Elizabeth II that was used for the ‘God Save The Queen’, minus the punk modifications on Twitter, to pay his respects to the monarch.

“Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth II,” he captioned the tweet. “Send her victorious. From all at johnlydon.com.”

After news of the Queen’s death broke yesterday (September 8), figures from across the entertainment world paid tribute to the monarch online, including the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger.