Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters is being accused of antisemitism again after a new documentary released by Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) exposed further evidence of the singer's prejudice.
CAA launched a full investigation into Waters, which revealed a number of “disturbing e-mails,” the organization said. The group was also able to provide witness testimonies from those working with Waters on his antisemitism.
Waters has not yet issued a public response to the documentary.
Waters’ inflatable pig prop
Waters, despite denying allegations of antisemitism, allegedly wanted to put “Dirty kyke [sic]” on his infamous inflatable pig, according to emails acquired by CAA during their investigation. The term “Kyke” is a misspelling of a slur used against Jews. The pig, used as a prop in Waters' concerts, already contained a Star of David, which is considered to be a symbol of both Judaism and the State of Israel.
The email also alleges that Waters wanted the pig to pour out confetti in the shapes of swastikas, Stars of David, and dollar symbols over the audience.
Witnesses to Waters’s antisemitic statements
CAA interviewed Pink Floyd’s former saxophonist, Norbert Stachel, who stated that Waters had mocked Stachel’s grandmother who was murdered by the Nazis.
Stachel also claimed that Waters demanded a server "take away the Jew food” when he was dissatisfied at the restaurant.
Stachel claimed that others who worked with Waters warned him not to complain if he wanted to maintain employment with him.
Music producer Bob Ezrin also spoke with CAA, claiming that Waters sang about his former agent Bryan Morrison, in which the lyrics stated “Cos Morri is a f***ing Jew.”
CAA comments on the investigation
“Roger Waters has repeatedly used his enormous platform to bait Jews, but he always claims that he is not antisemitic,” said Gideon Falter, chief executive of CAA. “We believed that there was further evidence out there to the contrary, and the release of The Dark Side of Roger Waters now puts the evidence we obtained in the hands of the public."
“It is hard to imagine a rockstar emblazoning the N-word above their concerts, but Mr. Waters demanded that his crew do exactly that with the K-word. Not only that, but he seems to have spent time humiliating and harassing his Jewish staff.
“One cannot help but watch this film and wonder what kind of person uses their power to this effect. Is Roger Waters an antisemite? Now people can make up their own minds.”
Roger Waters’s history of controversy
Roger Waters dressed up as a Schutzstaffel (SS) officer and compared Anne Frank to Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during a concert at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, The Jerusalem Post reported in May 2023.
At the beginning of the show, an announcement was displayed on a screen: “On a matter of public interest: A court in Frankfurt has ruled that I am not an antisemite," sparking applause from the crowd. "Just to be clear, I condemn antisemitism unreservedly," continued the announcement.
Former Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour had also accused Waters of antisemitism, the Post reported in February. Gilmour posted on X that Waters was "… 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."
Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report