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Sting says his children must “make their own way” rather than live off his money
Sting told CBS Sunday Morning he won’t let his children live off his money, praising their work ethic as he navigates royalties disputes with former Police bandmates.
Sting has been explicit about one thing: he will not allow his children to coast on his wealth. The Police frontman made the remark while appearing on CBS Sunday Morning, to discuss his upcoming role in the musical The Last Ship, which draws on his childhood in Wallsend.
He framed the decision not as stinginess but as an act of faith in his kids. “All of my kids have been blessed with this extraordinary work ethic,” he said, “whether it’s the DNA of it or whether I’ve said to them, ‘Guys, you’ve got to work. I’m spending our money, I’m paying for your education. You’ve got shoes on your feet. Go to work.'”
Sting pushed back against the idea that insisting on work was harsh. “I don’t think it’s cruel,” he continued, casting the stance as “trust in them that they will make their own way. They’re tough, my kids.” He went further: “I think the worst thing you can do to a kid is to say, ‘You don’t have to work’… I think that’s a form of abuse that I hope I’m never guilty of.”
Watch the moment down below:
The comments arrive at a moment when questions about legacy and money follow Sting into the headlines. Recently he reportedly paid his former Police bandmates more than $800,000 (£598,000) in royalties amid a lawsuit that was filed last September.
Guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland took Sting and his publishing company to court in London last year for what they described as “substantial damages,” capping off years of legal disputes between the trio. Summers and Copeland claimed Sting owed between $2 million (£1.5 million) and $10.75 million (£8 million) in unpaid royalties, a figure their lawyers warned could increase because it excluded interest. In turn, Sting’s lawyer argued the pair had been “substantially overpaid.”
Those courtroom headlines complicate the easy image of the rock star as benevolent patriarch. Whether arguing for his children’s independence on television or settling a long-running accounting spat with former bandmates, Sting’s choices sketch a musician still negotiating power, money, and responsibility in the public eye.
Elsewhere on the cultural circuit, Sting recently paid tribute to Brian Wilson with a gentle cover of “God Only Knows” during a performance in Germany, a reminder that even amid business disputes he remains an artist engaged with the canon.
