‘Cheap lousy f*ggot’: The eye-roll reason singer used homophobic slur in Fairytale of New York

For literally decades, The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York has been embroiled in a fierce debate surrounding one particular lyric – you know the one.

Look, as a proud queer person, I’ve gone through several standpoints on the use of the word “f*ggot” in The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York. As a teen, I hated it, but as of late, I feel very indifferent to the controversial lyric. In fact, my only real issue is the passion with which people sing it. They seemingly jump at the chance to be homophobic, their volume going up for that one word alone as they belt it with their full chest – I’m looking at you, nan. The debate is arguably more insufferable than the word choice itself, because the LGBTQ+ community has bigger things to worry about than boomers giggling over it in the local pub.

Why did they use ‘f*ggot’ in Fairytale of New York

Written in 1987 by The Pogues’ Shane MacGowan, The Fairytale of New York is actually incredibly dark for a Christmas song. It’s about an Irish immigrant couple’s rough, boozy Christmas Eve in New York City, with the duo butting heads over their failed aspirations for fame and glory. It ends on a slightly lighter note, but by that point, everyone is usually giggling over the word “f*ggot.”

“You scumbag, you maggot / You cheap lousy f****t,” featured singer Kirsty MacColl, who died in 2000, sings.

Shane MacGowan, who died back in 2023, addressed the backlash a few years ago. In a particularly eye-roll worthy moment, he questioned why the gay community would even find it offensive.

Quick reminder as we head into the season that the original Fairytale of New York includes the word “faggot” and it doesn’t really matter what the fucking context is, or how much you like singing that word loudly, you probably shouldn’t fucking do it.

— Tom Coates (@tomcoates) December 4, 2023

“I’ve been told it’s insulting to gays; I don’t understand how that works. Nobody in the band thinks that’s worth a second’s thought,” he said.

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But what we said next actually made sense, so he should have just stuck with that. You see, Kirsty’s character is not meant to be a nice loveable person – she’s meant to be the villain.

He explained: “The word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character. She is not supposed to be a nice person or even a wholesome person. She is a woman of a certain generation at a certain time in history, and she is down on her luck and desperate.

I know it’s offensive “blah, blah, blah” but without the word “faggot” Fairytale of New York ain’t the same song

— Troy (@2pintspr1ck) December 24, 2025

“Not all characters in songs and stories are angels or even decent and respectable, sometimes characters in songs and stories have to be evil or nasty in order to tell the story effectively.”

Just know, if you’re heterosexual and singing the lyric this Christmas, all the gays around you have permission to exclusively refer to you as a breeder for the rest of the day.

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Featured image credit: Huw John/Shutterstock