Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters says Berlin gig controversy a ‘smear’
Waters said images of an “unhinged fascist demagogue” have been seen in Pink Floyd concerts since 1980.
Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters said he opposes “fascism” in all its forms following a furor in Germany where the rock star donning a Nazi uniform at a concert in Berlin sparked a police investigation.
Berlin police said on Friday they were investigating Waters after images of the Pink Floyd co-founder circulated on social media, showing him on stage at the Mercedes-Benz arena last week wearing a long, black jacket with red bracelets and a world war imitation. II submachine gun.
Police are investigating “suspicion of inciting public hatred because the clothes worn on stage could be used to glorify or justify the Nazi regime,” a police spokesman told the French news agency AFP.
When the police investigation is complete, the case will be handed over to Berlin prosecutors, the police said.
Felix Klein, the German government commissioner for the fight against anti-Semitism, called for Waters to be held accountable. Klein said authorities should be “vigilant” after the incident and music venues should reconsider their relationship with the musician, according to a report by Germany’s Funke media group.
“Concert organizers should consider providing a platform for conspiracy theorists,” said Klein.
In a statement posted to his Twitter account on Saturday, Waters said his concert in Berlin had “provoked attacks in bad faith by those who want to smear and silence me because they disagree with my political views.”
Waters said attempts to portray his performance as anything but anti-fascist were “disingenuous and politically motivated”.
“The elements of my performance that have been questioned are very clearly a statement against fascism, injustice and bigotry in all its forms,” he said.
— Roger Waters ✊ (@rogerwaters) May 26, 2023
“The depiction of an unhinged fascist demagogue has been a hallmark of my shows since Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ in 1980,” he said.
“All my life I have spoken out against authoritarianism and oppression where I put it… My parents fought the Nazis in World War II, with my father paying the ultimate price,” he said.
“Regardless of the consequences of the attacks against me, I will continue to condemn injustice and anyone who perpetrates it.”
Water is a well-known pro-Palestinian activist accused of holding anti-Jewish views. During his concerts he floated an inflatable pig with the Star of David on it. The singer denies the anti-Semitism allegations, saying he was protesting Israeli policies, not the Jewish people.
Waters has played in several German cities in recent weeks as part of his “This Is Not A Drill” tour. But it was hugely controversial and some city officials even unsuccessfully tried to ban him from performing.
During the same concert in Berlin, Waters also flashed the names of several deceased individuals on a large screen, including that of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp.
Also mentioned was slain Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank last year.
Abu Akleh’s family has filed an official complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to demand justice for her death.
Waters will play his last German concert in the western city of Frankfurt on Sunday night and protesters plan to demonstrate outside the venue.
The Frankfurt city council tried to stop the concert, but a court ruled against them, citing artistic freedom.