Roger Waters Getting Canceled After Anti-Semitic Comments

Roger Waters is potentially facing backlash after a recently released documentary titled The Dark Side of Roger Waters brought to light accusations of anti-Semitism directed at the co-founder of Pink Floyd.

On September 27, the 37-minute video made its premiere on CAA’s social media channels. It was created by the London-based organization Campaign Against Antisemitism and presented by investigative journalist John Ware. Producer Bob Ezrin and saxophonist Norbert Stachel, two well-known musicians who worked closely with Waters for lengthy periods of time, make accusations against him in the movie.

In the documentary, Ezrin shared his perspective:

“Something like the last line of the couplet was ’cause Morry is a f*cking Jew’. It was my first inclination that there may be some anti-Semitism under the surface. Now Roger knew that I’m Jewish, so I didn’t know whether this was another one of those sort of button-poking things that he was doing just to see if I would react or whether he just did not even get how offensive that might be to a Jewish person.”

Stachel, who toured with Waters for many years, recounted an incident in which the musician allegedly remarked:

“‘This is Jew food. What’s with the Jew food? Take away the Jew food.’ I’m just sitting there, oh boy, tongue-tied again and kind of in a panic because I don’t know what to do. Am I supposed to leave and then be judged?”

Stachel also claimed that Waters mocked his family, including those who had suffered in the Holocaust, saying:

“He tried to go into character as a babushka, and he puts on this impression of an old hag. He tries to portray a Polish Jewish peasant woman’s voice, ‘I’ll introduce you to your dead grandmother.'”

There are claims that Waters suggested adding anti-Semitic wording to a stage prop during one of his performances, according to the documentary’s authors. When a Jewish lighting director complained, Waters apparently changed the insulting phrasing.

David Draiman called the artist an “anti-semite” on Twitter in May when he appeared onstage in Berlin wearing an SS officer costume. Along with him, Polly Samson also said that Waters was anti-Semitic for his contentious offensive remarks.