Jamiroquai's Jay Kay quashes rumours he was at Capitol riot after fans joke about doppelganger
Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay has quashed speculation he was one of the rioters who stormed the Capitol building, telling fans he "wasn't with all those freaks".
The 51-year-old posted a video on Twitter after trending on the social media platform due to his resemblance to one of the Trump supporters pictured at the riots in Washington DC.
Dubbed the Q Shaman, the bare-chested man with the US flag painted on his face - who also wore a furry hat with horns - has since been identified as Jake Angeli from Arizona.
He has been a regular at right-wing political rallies since 2019 and is a known promoter of QAnon - a bizarre right-wing conspiracy theory.
Jay Kay - whose real name is Jason Luis Cheetham - put on an American accent to jokingly tell his 74.3k followers: "Good morning world! Now some of you may be thinking you saw me in Washington last night, but I'm afraid I wasn't with all those freaks. Just to say yeah, happy new year to all of you, haven't seen you for ages!"
Commenting on his double's distinctive look, he wrote in an accompanying message: "Loving the headgear, but not sure that's my crowd."
In his short message he also touched upon his recent birthday and plans for the band to tour again, which have had to be put on hold due to the pandemic.
A well-known supporter of animal rights, Jay Kay also cautioned fans over the poor treatment of farmed animals, telling them: "The way we treat our animals, farming them, caging them, all the rest of it, we're just gonna keep getting this again and again, so hopefully, we'll try and learn our lesson."
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On Wednesday, pro-Trump rioters caused chaos in Washington's Capitol building in a bid to stop Joe Biden's victory in the US election from being approved.
Five people died, including a police officer hurt "while engaging with protesters" and a woman shot inside the Capitol. Authorities said the other three had died after "medical emergencies".
Donald Trump was bombarded with criticism and accused of encouraging the violence. He has since conceded defeat to Mr Biden and condemned the rioters.