Tom Morello has defended his unlikely friendship with Ted Nugent in a new interview with NME.

The Rage Against The Machine guitarist previously told The Howard Stern Show back in March that while he and Nugent (who has faced frequent scrutiny over his controversial right-wing views) “certainly have differences, I consider him a friend”.

Speaking to NME about their relationship, Morello said that he “reserves the right to be friends with anybody”.

“I reserve the right to confront opinions I disagree with, with open heartedness and love, or by throwing a brick,” he continued. “That’s up to me.

“In the case of Ted, I know he’s become this right-wing caricature but there have been several times where I have reached him on issues that you might be surprised about. But he is still crazy uncle Ted who says all sorts of shit.”

Morello added: “It can be important to keep an open dialogue with people you disagree with, especially in this global community of disagreements. Sometimes it’s just as important to block them, though.”

One example of Morello and Nugent’s contrasting views is their respective takes on Donald Trump.

Morello once called the former US President an “orange-faced demagogue” in a 2019 interview with NME, while Nugent, on the other hand, has repeatedly praised Trump in public and previously claimed that he was “sent from God”.

Elsewhere, Morello’s son Roman and Nandi Bushell recently released ‘The Children Will Rise Up!’, a song dedicated to enacting change amid the climate emergency.