Robbie Williams would be a troll if he wasn’t a pop star.
The 47-year-old singer – who first found fame in Take That – admits he would criticise himself if he was a normal guy looking at Robbie Williams the pop star.
He said: “I think all success in the UK, instead of going, ‘I’m going to try and do that and better it.’ People think, ‘I’m going to bring it down.’
“Look, I’m not saying either that I would think or be any other way if I hadn’t been as lucky as I’ve been. I’m not saying as a 47-year-old that would still be in Staffordshire, would I like and enjoy Robbie Williams? Or would I like and enjoy knocking Robbie Williams?
“I would probably like and enjoy knocking Robbie Williams more than I would like Robbie Williams. I’m not saying that I’m above.”
Robbie observed that fellow pop star James Blunt has faced similar criticism for his music over the years.
He told the ‘Talent Takes Practice’ podcast: “James Blunt has been pillared, hated, despised. He’s had to work out a way, like karate, to make the power coming at him work in his favour, belittle himself, joke about himself, be mean about himself, join in with it.
“There’s these things about how easy James Blunt had to get to what he got to, I don’t believe that … Everybody has a journey, everybody finds it immensely difficult.
“In the case of James Blunt, he’s actually a war hero. There’s stuff he’s done for our country, albeit as a captain, which we might get sniffy at, he still did it.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I’ve been to see him a few times, really enjoyed his gigs.”