Insofar as calling out disingenuous-seeming celebrities goes, Bono is pretty low-hanging fruit. But that hasn’t stopped Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters from lashing out at the U2 frontman in a recent interview, calling him an “enormous shit” for his support of Israel during the nation’s ongoing conflict with Hamas and occupation of Palestine.
The comments came in a recent discussion between Waters and Al Jazeera, in which the Pink Floyd songsmith reaffirmed his condemnation of Israel’s policy towards Palestine, and emphasized the importance of speaking out against war-mongering politics. When asked what he would say to artists who’ve remained quiet during this time, Waters turned his ire towards Bono.
“Anybody who knows Bono should go and pick him up by his ankles and shake him until he stops being an enormous shit,” Waters said, referring to a recent U2 performance at the Sphere where Bono expressed his support for Israel and changed the lyrics to “Pride (In the Name of Love)” to include references to October 7th.
“In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about non-violence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable, but our prayers have always been for peace and for non-violence,” Bono said to a crowd in Las Vegas last fall. “But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So, sing with us, and those beautiful kids at that music festival.”
Bono then sang new lyrics to “Pride (In the Name of Love),” swapping out references to Martin Luther King, Jr. with the lines: “Early morning, October 7th/ the sun is rising in the desert sky/ Stars of David, they took your life/ but they could not take your pride.” Watch a clip of the performance below.
Responding to those lines specifically, Waters said: “We have to start speaking to these people, to say: ‘Your opinion is so disgusting and degrading when you stand up for the Zionist entity.’ What he did in the Sphere in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, singing about the Stars of David, was one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Elsewhere in the Al Jazeera interview, Waters demonstrated his knowledge of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and called on people from all walks of life to stand up against oppression. In regards to whether musicians specifically should use their platforms to express political beliefs, he explained that there is a growing “group of us in the music industry who are standing up for human rights,” but generally pushed back against the idea that a musician’s role is all that different from anyone else’s role.
“More and more, people are discovering that the platform is indisputable, and the question is very direct: Do you believe in supporting human rights or not?” he said. “You can’t have it both ways. That’s true of a bass player just as it’s true of any worker in any industry. So, to single out musicians and suggest that they shouldn’t stand up for their rights is like saying: ‘You have no right to love.’ Because this movement is based on our love for one another, and our love for the planet that we all call home.”
Watch the full interview between Waters and Al Jazeera here.
Of course, Waters has not gone without criticism himself for his outspoken views. He’s been accused of antisemitism by former bandmates, collaborators, documentaries, and even the German government, who tried to have a concert of Waters’ in Frankfurt canceled over claims of antisemitism. Ultimately, it went to a German court, who ruled in Waters’ favor, writing that he “did not glorify or relativize the crimes of the Nazis or identify with Nazi racist ideology,” and that his concert should be “viewed as a work of art.” Waters himself has pushed back against his critics, accusing them of “abusing the term antisemitism to intimidate people like me into silence.”
As for U2, the band’s residency at the Sphere will continue through next month. Check out their upcoming dates, and grab tickets here.
⚡ Pink Floyd Co-founder, Roger Waters:
“They should pick (Bono) up by his ankles and shake him until he stops being a little shit.” pic.twitter.com/tMDM7WGwIk
— War Watch (@WarWatchs) February 19, 2024
In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about non-violence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable, but our prayers have always been for peace and for non-violence…
But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So sing with us… and those… pic.twitter.com/S1zfCMNtzz
— U2 (@U2) October 9, 2023
