Staples Center NOT Going All-Vegetarian for Morrissey's Sold-Out Concert

On Monday, Morrissey's press camp claimed that the Staples Center in Los Angeles was going all-vegetarian with their food options for his upcoming sold-out concert. According to Staples Center management, this simply isn't true.

While the Staples Center is already the most vegetarian-friendly arena in the NBA (according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' rankings) and they already offer options such as vegan sloppy joes and veggie burgers, there will definitely still be good, old-fashioned animal carcass for sale during Moz's March 1 concert. The Staples Center has previously denied the same no-meat request to Sir Paul McCartney, which the original press release from Morrissey's camp touted as a bit of a one-up for the former Smith's singer.

"As we have done in the past, we are happy to create a menu with a greater variety of vegetarian items for our guests that prefer these types of options, said Staples Center Senior Vice President and General manager Lee Zeidman, in a statement denying the meatless claims. "We respect Morrissey's lifestyle and his concern for the wishes of so many of his fans and are happy that we are able to honor his requests in this manner."

Of course, Staples Center promises that all of Morrissey's own backstage catering will be 100% vegetarian.

In addition, Staples Center will be reaching out to restaurants across the street at L.A. Live to suggest vegetarian options for their dinner menus. The venue is also extending an offer to PETA, allowing them to set up an information booth in the main concourse during the event.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Staples; director of communications Cara Vanderhook explained their decision to leave meat on the menu.

"It goes against our philosophy of providing our guests with the greatest number of amenities and food options in an arena setting," said Vanderhook.

Morrissey has yet to respond, but he's probably feeling something like this: