Roger Waters Fires Back After Backlash, Government Investigation Over Onstage Nazi Garb At Berlin Show: ‘Bad Faith Attacks’
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Roger Waters is responding after becoming mired in controversy after the Berlin stop on his This Is Not A Drill tour.
At one point in the show, the Pink Floyd alum donned a long SS-style leather overcoat adorned with a swastika-like symbol (actually crossed hammers), replete with a Nazi-style red armband, before being handed a prop machine gun and gleefully firing into the crowd.
Anyone familiar with the 1982 film “The Wall” — written by Waters, and based on Pink Floyd’s 1979 concept album of the same name — will recognize the iconography was directly lifted from the movie, in which an alienated rock star refashions himself as a Hitler-style fascist dictator; Waters has worn similar uniforms onstage when performing “The Wall” for several decades.
Nevertheless, given Waters’ frequent criticism of Israel, wearing a Nazi-style uniform onstage in Berlin was not a good look, leading to a firestorm of controversy.
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As a result, German authorities have opened an investigation into the matter to determine whether Waters’ performance violated the country’s stringent anti-Nazi laws.
Wow, this is @rogerwaters imitating a Nazi, while at a concert in … Berlin. This is just unhinged Jew hatred and Holocaust distortion. The man is vile beyond words. pic.twitter.com/zn1EvudSXc
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) May 25, 2023
The investigation was launched because Nazi symbols, flags and uniforms are strictly prohibited in Germany, with a police spokesperson telling Reuters that Waters’ onstage uniform was alleged to be “deemed capable of violating the dignity of the victims, as well as approving, glorifying or justifying the violent and arbitrary rule of the Nazi regime in a way that disrupts public peace.”
Interestingly, Waters addressed the controversy before if even took place.
As People reported, prior to the start of the show Rogers appeared onstage to deliver a message. “The show will start in 10 minutes and a court in Frankfurt has ruled that I am not an antisemite… just to be clear, I condemn antisemitism unreservedly,” he said.
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Waters’ remarks were in response to a decision last month by a Frankfurt court, determining the controversial sequence was allowed under the country’s artistic freedom of expression laws after protests from Jewish groups demanding the cancellation of Waters’ shows due to his reputations as “one of the most widely known antisemites in the world.”
Following the backlash, Waters responded with a lengthy statement via Twitter.
“My recent performance in Berlin has attracted bad faith attacks from those who want to smear and silence me because they disagree with my political views and moral principles,” Waters wrote.
“The elements of my performance that have been questioned are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice and bigotry in all its forms. Attempts to portray those elements as something else are disingenuous and politically motivated. The depiction of an unhinged fascist demagogue has been a feature of my show’s since Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ in 1980,” he continued.
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As Waters noted, his “parents fought the Nazis in World War II, with my father paying the ultimate price.”
He concluded, “Regardless of the consequences of the attacks against me, I will continue to condemn injustice and all those who perpetrate it.”
— Roger Waters ✊ (@rogerwaters) May 26, 2023
