Robbie Williams has responded to online speculation that arose after white material fell from his mouth onto his microphone during a Magenta TV interview at the World Cup final, joking that he had been chewing breath mints rather than anything untoward. The clarification came after clips of the moment circulated widely on social media, with some viewers speculating about drug use, given Williams's past openness about substance abuse issues during his time in Take That.

In a sarcastic Instagram video posted on 20 July, Williams "apologised" for the incident, saying it had been "deeply unprofessional" and that people had worried about him, before revealing two breath mints on his tongue to prove the substance was harmless. The mishap occurred on 19 July as he spoke during the closing ceremony following Spain's win over Argentina at MetLife Stadium, when a fleck of the mint fell onto his microphone and later became visibly stuck to his forehead after he scratched his head.