Photo Credit: Igor Flek
The German city of Frankfurt has cancelled an upcoming Roger Waters concert over his antisemitic remarks.
The Frankfurt City Council released a statement announcing the decision, calling Waters “one of the world’s most well-known antisemites.” Waters was supposed to perform on May 28 at Festhalle in Frankfurt, which used to be a Jewish detention camp. The venue is partially owned by the city and the council voted to cancel the show, rather than allow it to continue.
“The background to the cancellation is the persistent anti-Israel behavior of the former Pink Floyd frontman, who is considered one of the most widely spread antisemites in the world,” The council’s statement reads.
Earlier this year, David Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson publicized Waters’ comments on social media. “Sadly Roger Waters you are antisemitic to your rotten core,” she tweeted at the former frontman. “Also a Putin apologize and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy megalomaniac. Enough of your nonsense.” David Gilmour retweeted this assessment and added, “Every word demonstrably true.”
The former Pink Floyd frontman has drawn criticism for strange comments he’s made about NATO, Ukraine, and Palestine. Roger Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985, suing to prevent David Gilmour and Nick Mason from continuing to use the band’s name without him. Waters ultimately lost that battle with Pink Floyd touring without Waters attached into the 90s.
A $500M rumored catalog sale of the Pink Floyd catalog never materialized after October 2022. According to sources, that’s because the band’s members couldn’t reach an agreement over taxes and that Roger Waters’ incendiary statements on the Ukraine war may be hampering the ability to make a deal. It’s rumored Pink Floyd sought $467 million for the catalog including recorded music rights, but not music publishing rights.
An interview with Rolling Stone by Roger Waters may have put a damper on those plans, too. Those comments came after David Gilmour and Nick Mason released a song in support of Ukraine, pledging to direct the proceeds to Ukrainian humanitarian aid.