Pete Waterman: Millionares being exploited

Sorry guys, but I just want to tell you how I'm feeling.

The co-writer of the Rick Astley classic, "Never Gonna Give You Up," called a press conference today to complain that he hasn't gotten richer lately.

Thanks to a bizarre online meme called "Rickrolling,"Astley's 1987 music video has become a smash Internet sensation, being viewed some 154 million times on YouTube. For all that exposure, however, Waterman received only $16 in YouTube ad revenue.

I'll admit it: that sucks. But Waterman's hyperbolic whining is pompous and pathetic.

"Panorama did a documentary on the exploitation of foreign workers in Dubai," he told reporters. "I feel like one of those workers, because I earned less for a year's work off Google or YouTube than they did off the Bahrain government."

Wow.

Good point, Pete. Because, as you know, those workers also have a net worth of $45 million. And Google, much like an evil government, is definitely reaping IMMENSE economic benefits from your videos on YouTube.

There's more I could say, like, "You really don't deserve payment for most of those views," and "Those views probably translated to more CD sales, anyway," but instead I'll just say this:

Pete, you've let me down.