The Radiohead singer confronted an anti-Israel interlocutor before leaving the stage at a concert in Melbourne, Australia. This happened on Wednesday night.
Thom Yorke, whose English rock band performed in Israel three times despite calls for a boycott, was nearing the end of his solo performance when a protester began shouting about the Jewish state.
Although it is not entirely clear from the video what exactly the protester said, he apparently mentioned the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas.
“Come here and do it again, right now,” York shouted back.
“Get up on the damn stage and say what you want to say. Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it,” he said as the crowd roared in approval.
“Come on. Do you want to ruin everyone’s evening? Okay, see you later,” York said and walked off stage. Many in the crowd shouted “no” in disappointment.
Thom Yorke argued with some pro-Palestinian people on the floor and left the box of the show in Australia (info @nme). Follow the video
“Come and say that. Right here. Get on the fucking stage and say what you want to say. But don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it.” pic.twitter.com/ZKXgDCEYTK
—Teco (@Edukator_Teco) October 30, 2024
Yorke then returned to the stage to perform the final number, Radiohead’s “Karma Police.”
Radiohead, who have won multiple Grammy Awards and sold millions of records since the 1990s, have been targets of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, especially in the run-up to their 2017 concert in Tel Aviv. In response, York called the BDS protesters “offensive” and “condescending.”
The group first performed in Israel in 1993 and then again in 2000.
Lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, married to Israeli artist Sharona Katan, recorded an album last year with Israeli singer Dudu Tassa, as well as artists from across the Middle East, including Palestinian singer Freteih, Egyptian singer Ahmed Doma and singer Moroccan Mohsin Salaheddin.
This year, Greenwood responded to critics who asked him to cancel a planned European tour with Tassa due to the ongoing war.
Cursor previously wrote that the world-famous anti-Semitic artist was accused of rape.
