Former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters drew the ire of social media users who were outraged over a video of him sporting an all-black outfit with a red, Nazi-like armband at a recent concert in Berlin, Germany.
Waters has been traveling to cities around Germany as part of his This Is Not A Drill tour and his performances have been drawing controversy.
According to the BBC, Munich and Cologne tried to cancel his performances after Jewish organizations such as the Central Council of Jews accused him of antisemitism for his authoritarian-inspired costume.
While ardent Pink Floyd fans understood the meaning behind his bold attire and what he was going for–which we'll get to later–it didn't exonerate him from public scrutiny.
It also didn't help when, in the viral video, he was given a prop machine gun and took aim at the audience.
The International Legal Forum CEO Arsen Ostrovsky was appalled and shared a video of Waters performing at Berlin's Mercedes-Benz Arena on May 17 on Twitter.
Ostrovsky tweeted:
“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.”
\u201cWow, this is @rogerwaters imitating a Nazi, while at a concert in \u2026 Berlin. This is just unhinged Jew hatred and Holocaust distortion. The man is vile beyond words.\u201d— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Arsen Ostrovsky) 1685035845
In Germany, it's illegal to display symbols and insignias associated with Nazis on flags and uniforms–although exceptions are made if they're for educational purposes.
Now, Waters is under investigation for his histrionics many thought went too far.
Germany police spokesman Martin Halweg said:
"We are investigating on suspicion of incitement to public hatred because the clothing worn on stage could be used to glorify or justify Nazi rule, thereby disturbing the public peace."
"The clothing resembles the clothing of an SS officer."
\u201c@Ostrov_A @rogerwaters It\u2019s called performance- without context- this post does not make a point-\u201d— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Arsen Ostrovsky) 1685035845
Speaking of context, here is why it matters in this case.
Waters has performed in the controverial costume mimicking Nazis at his concerts before purely for the sake of theater.
The logo on his armband of two crossed hammers within a white circle is similar to the one seen in the 1982 musical drama film, The Wall, based on Pink Floyd's eponymous 1979 album.
The screenplay written by Waters starred fellow musician-turned-activist Bob Geldof as Pink–a rock star who builds an emotional wall around himself after past traumatic events and pressures of rock stardom drive him to insanity.
In the film, Pink's spiraling mental state leads him to believe he has become a dictator and at one point hallucinates that his concert is a fascist rally.
Fans privvy to The Wall's commentary defended Waters and asserted that Ostrovsky and other critics unfamiliar with the movie were jumping to conclusions.
\u201c@Ostrov_A @rogerwaters L O L - Waters has been performing The Wall in costume for 45 yrs . . .\n\n-Here he is in Berlin in 1999 performing the same music in costume. These 'critics' are not serious people. They\u2019re self described Zionists.\u201d— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Arsen Ostrovsky) 1685035845
\u201c@Ostrov_A @rogerwaters Wow, you\u2019ve never seen \u201cThe wall\u201d obviously. Attacking art is the problem here.\u201d— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Arsen Ostrovsky) 1685035845
\u201c@Ostrov_A @rogerwaters O for heavens sake. The context of the whole story he tells is important. His music and art is far from a celebration of Nazism or ant cult. In fact, it mostly critically but discreetly analyses the origins and methods by which society falls into decay. He provides theater\u2026\u201d— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Arsen Ostrovsky) 1685035845
\u201cNobody actually believes Roger Waters dressed as a Nazi at a concert. Everyone knows it's from The Wall. Anyone who didn't know this was corrected immediately and knows it now. They're just pretending they don't know this to advance a political agenda.\u201d— Caitlin Johnstone (@Caitlin Johnstone) 1685092737
\u201cRoger\u2019s father was killed by Nazis you stupid arrogant prick. This is literally a reenactment from Pink Floyd\u2019s album & film The Wall. Can\u2019t believe people don\u2019t understand that. Maybe research your shit before you spread disgusting out of context things like this.\u201d— Alec (@Alec) 1685060627
\u201c@Ostrov_A @rogerwaters wait, isn\u2019t this from the part of \u201cthe wall\u201d which explores how the atomization in modern society can shut down people\u2019s empathy and make them capable of cruelty?\nIirc this segment was a condemnation of the aspects of society which lead people to hatred, not a celebration.\u201d— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Arsen Ostrovsky) 1685035845
\u201c@Ostrov_A @rogerwaters He\u2019s mocking a dictator. Portraying tyranny is NOT advocacy! Your perspective is completely wrong. But you want him to be bad so you make him so.\u201d— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Arsen Ostrovsky) 1685035845
\u201c@Ostrov_A @rogerwaters You are a clown. This album is older than the internet.\u201d— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Arsen Ostrovsky) 1685035845
Ostrovsky's tweet added an explanation for context.
“The clip shows part of Waters’ performance of The Wall, in which he portrays an authoritarian fascist."
"It is a critique of fascism and to present it as ‘Jew hatred and Holocaust distortion’ is a mischaracterisation of the performance and its message.”
The Independent previously noted:
“After opening the show with a statement saying he ‘condemns antisemitism unreservedly’, Waters performed while wearing a long black jacket, gloves, and a red armband adorned with hammers, rather than the Nazi swastika."
"He also projected the name of Holocaust teen diarist Anne Frank on a giant screen during the shows, along with several other names of contemporary figures including George Floyd, a Black man killed by Minnesota police in 2020, and Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot and killed last year while covering a raid by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on a Palestinian refugee camp.”
The drama came to light after the cancellation of Water's performing engagement in the city of Frankfurt, Germany.
City officials released the following statement.
A translation by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency read:
“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."
"He repeatedly called for a cultural boycott of Israel and drew comparisons to the apartheid regime in South Africa and put pressure on artists to cancel events in Israel.”
Last year, Waters told Rolling Stone that he believed Israel was “an apartheid state” and he compared the country to apartheid-era South Africa.
He also denounced fellow musicians like Madonna Radiohead, Nick Cave, and the Chemical Brothers for performing in Israel.
Waters has denied the antisemitic allegations and thanked the fans who showed up for his shows in Germany in a Facebook post.
