Roger Waters accuses 'f*cking morons' of spreading 'lies' about him being an antisemite

Roger Waters, who has a long history of using inflammatory antisemitic imagery, slammed activists accusing him of antisemitism.

Former rock band "Pink Floyd" musician Roger Waters performs on stage during his tour, at Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, US, September 18, 2022. (photo credit: REUTERS/AMR ALFIKY)
Former rock band "Pink Floyd" musician Roger Waters performs on stage during his tour, at Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, US, September 18, 2022.
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMR ALFIKY)

Roger Waters has recorded himself claiming that he is the victim of lies in reference to complaints that he is an antisemite, according to a video of Roger Waters shared by British NGO Eye on Antisemitism.

In the video, Waters refers to people accusing him of antisemitism as “f*cking morons.” 

Waters uses the term “we” multiple times throughout the video, in one instance saying “we can vilify and we can probably destroy,” although he does not specify who the collective “we” is.

Roger Waters, draped with a Palestinian keffiyeh (credit: REUTERS)
Roger Waters, draped with a Palestinian keffiyeh (credit: REUTERS)

Why has Roger Waters been accused of antisemitism?

As the Jerusalem Post reported in May, Roger Waters came under public scrutiny after he dressed up as an SS officer and compared Anne Frank to Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during a concert at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. 

Shortly after the show began, a graphic displayed on a crucifix-shaped screen hanging above the stage showed speech bubbles reading "They must think we're f*%$ing stupid!" and "Who do you mean by they?"

"Them, up there in the penthouse, the f&%$ing oligarchy," continued the speech bubbles. "Ah, you mean the powers that be," added another speech bubble as a man in a suit drinking wine and riot police with shields with a symbol of crossed hammers were displayed on the screen. Throughout the show, humanoid pigs and shady businessmen "pulling the strings" were displayed on the screen. Social media users and activists condemned the imagery as an "antisemitic dogwhistle."

The US State Department has also condemned Roger Waters, calling the former Pink Floyd frontman’s recent concert in Berlin “antisemitic.” 

“The concert in question, which took place in Berlin, contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust,” the department. “The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people.” 

Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report