Boris Johnson sings 'I Will Survive' amid calls to resign

Allow Boris Johnson to explain why he'll survive as British prime minister ... in song.

Johnson, who has faced calls to resign following revelations of parties held during COVID-19 lockdown, recently brought on Guto Harri as his new director of communications — and sang him the Gloria Gaynor song "I Will Survive" to indicate he'll make it through the scandal, BBC News reports. Harri himself revealed as much in an interview with the Welsh magazine Golwg360.

"I asked 'Are you going to survive Boris?'" Harri said. "And he said in his deep, slow and purposeful voice and started to sing a little while finishing the sentence and saying 'I Will Survive.' He invariably invited me to say 'You've got all your life to live' and he replied, 'I've got all my love to give,' so we got a little blast from Gloria Gaynor!"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The U.K. government was recently criticized in a report by civil servant Sue Gray for "difficult to justify" behavior pertaining to gatherings that were held while COVID-19 restrictions were in effect, including one for Johnson's birthday. "At least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time," Gray said. Johnson has apologized for the gatherings but said he will not resign.

Harri also assured the British public that Johnson is "not a complete clown" but actually a "very likable character," explaining that after their spontaneous musical number, they had a "serious discussion about how to get the government back on track and how we move forward."

Asked about the "I Will Survive" anecdote by ITV News, Johnson dodged the question but said he's been focused on dealing with "the big problems that the country faces."