Paul McCartney Roasts Bruce Springsteen at Awards Show: 'He's Never Worked a Day in His Life'

Paul McCartney roasts Bruce Springsteen.

On Thursday, May 23, McCartney, 81, presented Springsteen, 74, with the prestigious songwriting award at the 2024 Ivor Novello Awards in London — and he didn’t hold back on poking fun at his longtime friend.

“He’s known as America’s working man, but he admits he’s never worked a day in his life. It’s true,” the Beatles star said in a video shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), as he introduced his fellow rocker at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

Springsteen became the first international songwriter to be inducted into the Academy’s fellowship in its 80-year history, according to the Ivors Academy’s website, and the award is “the highest honor bestowed by the organization.” Previous winners include Adele, Sting, Amy Winehouse, John Lennon, Kate Bush and McCartney.

Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

‘How do you do it?’ Read the first exchange between Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson (Exclusive)

McCartney called Springsteen a “lovely, lovely boy”, after joking that he “couldn’t think of a more fitting” international musician to receive the honour, the BBC reports.

“Except maybe Bob Dylan… Or Paul Simon, or Billy Joel, or Beyoncé, or Taylor Swift. The list goes on,” McCartney joked.

The PEOPLE Puzzler has arrived! How fast can you solve it? Play now!

He proceeded to present the award to Springsteen as the crowd chanted “Bruce.”

“I’m going to sound really weird here because I sang in the rain all night last night,” Springsteen said on stage, referring to his performance in Sunderland, England on Wednesday, May 22 amid heavy rain in the United Kingdom.

Bruce Springsteen, with the E Street Band, on stage at Murrayfield, Edinburgh.

Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty

Insisting he never considered canceling the show, Springsteen continued: “We went out last night and I said, ‘What’s the weather like? It’s raining, the wind is howling,'” according to the BBC.

“But standing in front of me, in the rain, I realized: These are my people,” added the “Dance in the Dark” hitmaker.

Springsteen also recalled his first trip to London back in 1975, admitting that he now considers the UK a second home. However, he wasn’t completely sold at first.

“The food on the plane wasn’t that good, and my first thought when we landed at Heathrow was, ‘Where are all the cheeseburgers?’ “, the musician joked, according to the caption.

Jon Bon Jovi Says Bruce Springsteen Is Like a ‘Big Brother’: We’re on a ‘Whole Different Level of Friendship’ (Exclusive)

Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen to perform at Glastonbury Festival 2022.

Samir Hussein/WireImage

“The cheeseburgers were hidden or replaced with something called fish and chips. It was a little confusing,” he added.

“Then our next stop was the Hammersmith Odeon, where I was greeted by a huge sign announcing, ‘London is finally ready for Bruce Springsteen,'” Springsteen continued. “And all I could think was, ‘If London’s not ready for a cheeseburger, maybe they’re not ready for me!’ ”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Springsteen and McCartney have performed together numerous times over the years, and took to the stage at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival during McCartney’s headlining act.

Springsteen performed “I Wanna Be Your Man” and his own “Glory Days” with the former Beatle at the festival, which also featured Dave Grohl.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education