Robbie Williams’ film Better Man sparks huge debate after Americans mock pop star over monkey biopic and claim they ‘have no idea who he is’
Britons have been forced to defend Robbie Williams after a debate broke out on social media, with Americans slamming his new musical monkey biopic and claiming they have ‘no idea who he is’.
The 50-year-old star’s film, Better Man, received rave reviews from critics, who praised it as ‘riveting’, ‘bombastic’ and ‘utterly inspired’.
The semi-biographical film follows the singer’s meteoric rise as a member of Take That and subsequent dramatic fall, as he battled his personal demons and the challenges that success can bring.
But in a twist on the genre, the film portrays the pop star as a chimpanzee while everyone else is human, with Jonno Davies acting out the movements via motion capture technology and Robbie doing most of the voice work.
But as clips from the film circulate on social media, stunned Americans are admitting they’ve ‘never heard of him’ – and the British can’t believe it.
In their conversation with No one in America has any idea who that is…. And like I probably got excited for Robin Williams, I then thought, oh…. Why they advertise like that is a big problem.’
Brits have been forced to defend Robbie Williams after a debate broke out on social media, with Americans claiming they ‘have no idea who he is’
The 50-year-old star’s film, Better Man, received rave reviews from critics, who praised it as ‘riveting’, ‘bombastic’ and ‘utterly inspired’.
‘Who is Robbie Williams and why does he have a biopic where he is a cartoon monkey?’
‘Who is Robbie Williams? Why are people angry that Americans aren’t interested in any of the films he’s associated with?’
‘I had to look up who Robbie Williams is. Apparently he’s a British guy who sings.’
‘In the trailer Robbie states that he is one of the biggest pop stars in the world. I’ve literally never heard of him. I don’t want to see a biopic of him either.’
But British fans were quick to explain and furiously defended the pop star, writing: ‘That’s insane. Can’t imagine you’ve never heard of him, or just assume so.’
“I recently discovered that Americans have no idea who Robbie Williams is, and that absolutely blows my mind because how.”
‘375,000 people went to Knebworth over three nights just to watch Robbie Williams. He broke out in Europe, Asia and South America, his tours grossing more than $600 million. But Americans laugh at him and doubt his popularity because he wasn’t that big in North America? Get a grip.”
‘Americans: “who is Robbie Williams anyway” Robbie Williams: Britain’s best-selling solo artist, most Brit Awards of any artist, every album to number 1, numerous Guinness world records, one of the best-selling music artists of all time…’
‘Americans vilify Robbie Williams for Rock DJ as if it isn’t one of the greatest songs ever made.’
The semi-biographical film follows the singer’s meteoric rise as a member of Take That and subsequent dramatic fall
But as clips from the film circulate on social media, stunned Americans admit they’ve ‘never heard of him’ – and Brits can’t believe it
“I don’t understand why the Robbie Williams movie gets so much hate from Americans, lol, you just don’t watch it?”
‘I need the hating Americans to keep Robbie Williams’ name out of their mouths. If you don’t understand, that’s your responsibility, the man is a superstar.’
And on TikTok, another Brit posted a TikTok standing up for the star, which has racked up a whopping two million views in just a few days.
The user who posts under the handle @sophiegotsleevedwrote: ‘Americans bully Robbie Williams, but what they don’t understand is that he signed the biggest recording contract in British music history (£80 million), making him one of the highest paid singers in the world.
“Remember how Taylor Swift broke the record for most tickets sold in one day for the Eras Tour at the end of 2022? Guess who held the record before her? For SEVENTEEN years.
‘He also did three nights at Knebworth to an audience of 300,000 people EACH night. Put some respect on his name.”
But the debate continued as Brits and Americans flooded the comments section: ‘Literally never heard of the man until the extreme amount of videos about him this week.’
“Okay, but why is he a monkey?”
“It’s crazy how literally no American knows who he is? Literally was on Take That and I KNOW they were worldwide, so?’
But British fans were quick to explain and furiously defended the pop star, writing: ‘That’s insane. I don’t understand why you’ve never heard of him, or assume so’
And on TikTok, another Brit posted a TikTok standing up for the star, which has racked up a whopping two million views in just a few days
‘Now I wonder if Americans know the Beatles or the Queen. I’m Italian and Robbie Williams had incredible success here in the 90s/2000s.’
“I’m shocked that Americans don’t know who he is, whaaat?! You don’t know it, Take That?! they were huge here.”
“I’m glad he had a great career, he’s virtually unknown in the US.”
‘It baffles me that as someone who loves old and new music, as an American I have NEVER heard of Robbie Williams until now. Even my parents don’t know who he is. I’ll give the movie a chance.’
Although critics labeled the monkey decision a “big risk” and possibly “stupid gamble,” they declared it ultimately a genius choice and “one of the most inspired casting pieces of the year.”
While they also praised director Michael Gracey for creating the right balance between fun choreographed musical numbers with deep emotional scenes, saying the film performs best when it delves into Robbie’s vulnerability.
In his four-star review for Roger Egbert.comClint Worthington said the chimpanzee gimmick was a “smart move” that allowed Robbie to “vulnerably share his lows while underplaying the pageantry of his highs.”
He added, “You won’t see another music biopic quite like ‘Better Man,’ regardless of your level of familiarity with the subject matter. There’s an excess of charm here that helps sell the nonsensical gimmick.’
But the debate continued as Brits and Americans flooded the comments section
Although critics labeled the monkey decision a “big risk” and possibly a “stupid gamble,” they declared it ultimately a genius choice.
While That of the Telegraaf Robbie Collin agreed, also giving the film four stars and stating: “The Take That singer’s decision to tell his life story through a CGI chimpanzee may seem stupid, but it’s utterly inspired.”
He said it was “pure monkey magic” and praised Jonno for giving “the best performance of this type since Andy Serkis’ Gollum in The Lord of the Rings”, writing: “The physical integration is seamless; the emotional fine details compellingly subtle and present.’
And in another four-star review: of the empire Alex Godfrey said the risk paid off because it “elevates everything we see on screen, making it all both more intense and somehow more relatable.”
Alex wrote that the idea of the monkey makes us even more sympathetic to Robbie’s story, saying, “The conceit works wonders: the little animalistic physical touches make him feel so much like an animal that we care for him significantly more than if he would be. a human lookalike.