Rod Stewart sorry for video seen as beheading re-enactment

Rod Stewart is apologizing for a video shared by his wife that shows the singer in what appears to be a re-enactment of a beheading.

The video posted on Instagram by Penny Lancaster shows several people clad in black walking in a desert. Stewart is wearing a white shirt and standing behind a man who gets on his knees before Stewart makes a motion with his right hand in front of the man’s neck. The video has been deleted but was captured by media outlets and republished.

Stewart was in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for a concert Thursday.

Stewart says in a statement the group was “simply larking about pre show.” He says the video was “understandably” misinterpreted and he sends his “deepest apologies to those who have been offended.”