No free rides in the Sumner household.
Sting has declared that forcing his six children to earn their own living is an act of love, not cruelty.
In a recent interview, the former Police frontman explained why he refuses to bankroll his offspring’s careers, including actress Mickey Sumner and musicians Joe and Eliot Sumner.
“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,” he said.
The 74-year-old, who still defines himself as a working musician rather than a rock star, recalled his own gritty past: office jobs, building sites, and teaching in a mining village.
While he rakes in an estimated £550,000 annually from ‘Every Breath You Take’ royalties alone, Sting insists his kids have a “tough” work ethic.
His comments come amid an ongoing royalties lawsuit from his Police bandmates Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, to whom he has reportedly paid over $800,000 since 2025.
