Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters claimed his critics were trying to cancel him "like Jeremy Corbyn" after being accused of antisemitism at a gig in Germany.
Kicking off his UK Tour in Birmingham earlier this week, the controversial figure raged against the press, politicians, and those that disagree with him.
However, the musician muted some of the more controversial aspects of his performance in the wake of backlash.
Waters is currently under investigation in Germany for wearing an SS-style uniform on stage in Berlin, where displaying Nazi symbols is illegal.
Roger in hot water over Germany Nazi symbol laws
TikTok
He has also sparked outrage for comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, lashing out at the “Jewish lobby” and flying a pig balloon emblazoned with the Star of David at a concert in 2013.
Revving up the crowd at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, Roger raged that he was “p*ssed off” at “the antisemitism bullsh*t”, before claiming he was being cancelled “like they cancelled Jeremy Corbyn and Julian Assange.”
Roger’s rant extended to the press, as he taunted “I’m fighting back, Mr Telegraph!”, and politicians as he labelled Bury South MP Christian Wakeford a “w**ker” for calling for Waters’ performance to be blocked.
Rogers added: "If you’re one of those ‘I love Pink Floyd but I can’t stand Roger’s politics’ people, then you might do well to f**k off to the bar.”
The Birmingham performance featured projected images of bombed out buildings, American presidents labelled “war criminals” and support for Assange, trans rights and Black Lives Matter.
Waters refrained from donning the SS-style uniform that usually accompanies the songs from the 1979 rock opera The Wall, where the main character experiences a hallucination of becoming a dictator.
Roger Waters will also play at Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, O2 in London and the AO Arena in Manchester.
Roger Waters/Facebook
Likewise, the controversial use of Anne Frank in Waters’ performance was belatedly caveated with the words “Her crime? Being Jewish”.
Elio Adler, the leader of Jewish group WerteInitiative, said: “His words and imagery spread Jew-hatred and are part of a trend: to normalise Israel-hatred under the protection of freedom of speech or art.”
Also conspicuously absent were references to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, marginalised to fleeting images of Putin and an on screen slogan of “F*cking oligarchs”.
Polly Samson, wife of Waters’ former bandmate Dave Gilmour, called him “antisemitic to your rotten core” and a “Putin apologist” in February, to which Waters responded by refuting her claim, saying he was “taking advice” as to his position.
Waters has hit out at the press for attempting to cancel him
Reuters
The Jewish Chronicle reports that activists in the UK are weighing up a Just Stop Oil approach to disrupt Waters’ tour.
In Frankfurt, where Waters appeared on Sunday 28, a protester known as ‘Marcel L’ interrupted the performance by storming the stage and waving an Israeli flag as a group of demonstrators sang ‘Am Yisrael Chai’.
A couple of the protestors were heavy-handedly removed from the Festhalle, the venue in which 3,000 Jews were rounded up on Kristallnacht in 1938 before being deported to concentration camps.
Frankfurt authorities had attempted to prevent the concert from taking place but Waters challenged the decision in court.
Waters has said on Facebook: “The elements of my performance that have been questioned are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms.”
He added: “The depiction of an unhinged fascist demagogue has been a feature of my shows since Pink Floyd’s The Wall in 1980. My parents fought the Nazis in World War II, with my father paying the ultimate price.”
Waters will also play at Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, O2 in London and the AO Arena in Manchester.
