Muse Never Asked Glenn Beck to Retract His Endorsement

Love him or hate him, you have to admit Glenn Beck knows how to start a controversy, even if it's not based in fact. A few weeks ago, the Fox News commentator made headlines in the music world when he claimed that representatives of Muse asked him to stop praising the British rockers. Now, he admits that the whole thing was simply a joke.

Back in August, Beck announced that Muse was one of his favorite bands and played their new single 'Uprising' on his radio show. Then, last month, Beck compared the band and their lyrics to his own political views, writing "They 'get it.' Libertarian!" on his Twitter feed. Last month, Beck raved about the band again on his show then claimed that a representative of Muse had just e-mailed him, asking him to retract his endorsement.

Even though Beck laughed while making this announcement, saying "I didn't mean to destroy all their credibility and all their coolness," many took him seriously. Now, Beck is claiming that it was all just a misunderstanding. "After raving about Muse for four minutes, Glenn made a joke about their representatives e-mailing him to stop," Christopher Balfe, a spokesperson for Beck, said in a statement Monday. "While it is entirely possible that Muse do not like having Glenn as a fan, he was making a joke and their representatives never reached out to him."

For their part, Muse have so far declined to comment on Beck's fandom or views. Their latest album, 'The Resistance,' was released last month and peaked at No. 3 on the US album charts.