Pink Floyd rocker Roger Waters tells Richard Branson to ‘back off’ over Venezuela
Pink Floyd rocker Roger Waters tells Richard Branson to ‘back off’ over Venezuela
Backlash against Roger Waters, the co-founder of the rock band Pink Floyd, continued after images of the singer wearing an SS uniform and displaying antisemitic images during one of his latest concerts went viral.
During a performance in Berlin earlier this month, Water walked on stage wearing the uniform along with a red armband and a fake rifle. As he performed, a large inflatable pig floated over the audience displaying Third Reich-style banners with crossed hammers instead of swastikas.
The concert also featured the names of victims considered to have been killed by state actors, including George Floyd and anti-Nazi activist Sophie Scholl. The display of names drew particular ire from Jewish organizations as well as Israel itself for listing Holocaust victim Anne Frank behind Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Contempt for Waters only grew as time went on and more organizations and individuals weighed in on the images.
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters sparked outrage over performing with an SS uniform during a Berlin concert. (Getty Images)
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Documentarian and journalist Ian Halperin, director of the anti-Waters film "Wish You Weren’t Here," attacked this performance as the latest in a long line-up of "touring and profiting off false statements" about the Jewish people.
"For some reason, he gets a free pass with the Jews, but if Roger Waters was wearing a white cape and calling for the re-enslavement of African Americans, God forbid, he would be shut down after day one. He would never be allowed to tour again. And it's akin to what he's doing to the Jews. He's really disparaging and creating hatred against Jews from the state of Israel and the Jewish people. And as the son of a Holocaust survivor, I take great offense to it," Halperin told Fox News Digital.
"What Roger Waters is doing is essentially trying to divide everybody against the Jews," he added.
Halperin also remarked that both he and former Pink Floyd saxophone player Scott Page were keynote speakers at the tech-based TMRW Conference in Europe. After meeting, Halperin stated Page called his anti-Waters film "spot on," referring to Waters as the "dictator" of the band.
Documentarian and journalist Ian Halperin denounced former Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters antisemitic behavior. (Ian Halperin)
This comment followed fellow former band member David Gilmour similarly condemning Waters for his controversial views.
"Sadly @rogerwaters you are antisemitic to your rotten core. Also a Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac. Enough of your nonsense," Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson tweeted.
"Every word demonstrably true," Gilmour replied.
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After the images went viral, The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) weighed in with a formal statement calling once again for the prosecution of Waters for distorting the Holocaust.
"Shame on Frankfurt authorities and the Mercedes Benz arena in Berlin for providing anti-Semite Roger Waters this venue for his concert," the SWC's Rabbi Abraham Cooper said. "The Jewish community’s concerns be damned. So will Germany prosecute Waters for Holocaust distortion or will promoters rush to book the anti-Semite for more lurid 3-D anti-Israel hate fests masquerading as concerts?"
In an earlier statement provided to Fox News Digital, Gilad Erdan, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, also blasted the performance.
"Only a true antisemite, such as Roger Waters, dares to desecrate the memory of the Holocaust while in Berlin. Waters should never be allowed to spew his antisemitism. In an age when Jew hatred is reaching new heights, his views, comments, and actions should be banished to the dark side of the moon and never resurfaced," Erdan said.
Jewish organizations have accused Waters of distorting the Holocaust through his imagery. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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In response to Waters’ performance, Halperin informed Fox News Digital that he will lower the price for his film to expose the singer’s history of antisemitism. Using the password "PinkFloyd," users can access "Wish You Weren’t Here" at an 85% discount on Vimeo. The film is also available on Amazon.