News | Entertainment
9 Oct 2025 22:47
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Roger Waters has hit out at "timid" and "unpleasant" Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke

    The Pink Floyd co-founder, a longstanding supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, has repeatedly attacked Yorke and Radiohead for choosing to perform in Israel and for what he perceives as their weak alignment with the Palestinian cause


    Speaking on The Katie Halper Show, the 82-year-old musician said of Yorke: "He's a timid little bloke. I think he's unpleasant company. I wrote him many letters you know."

    The tension between Waters and Yorke dates back to 2017, when Radiohead went ahead with a concert in Tel Aviv despite calls - including from Waters - to cancel under a cultural boycott of Israel. Waters has publicly opposed such performances ever since, citing his alignment with BDS since 2011.

    When asked if Yorke ever replied to his letters, Waters said: "Yes, he did respond. It's all going in my memoir. He got very very snarky and he was trying to be fun[ny]."

    Yorke, for his part, has defended his past actions and clarified that Radiohead does not support Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu any more than they endorse US President Donald Trump.

    At the time, he said: "Playing in a country isn't the same as endorsing its government."

    Earlier this year, Yorke issued a lengthy reflection on the Israel-Gaza conflict as he described an incident during a solo show in Melbourne when he was heckled by a protester.

    The 57-year-old singer posted on social media: "Some guy shouting at me from the dark last year when I was picking up a guitar to sing the final song alone in front of 9000 people in Melbourne didn't really seem like the best moment to discuss the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Afterwards I remained in shock that my supposed silence was somehow being taken as complicity, and I struggled to find an adequate way to respond to this and to carry on with the rest of the shows on the tour.

    "That silence, my attempt to show respect for all those who are suffering and those who have died, and to not trivialise it in a few words, has allowed other opportunistic groups to use intimidation and defamation to fill in the blanks, and I regret giving them this chance. This has had a heavy toll on my mental health."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     09 Oct: Arik Marshall has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help repay debts to his landlord as he faces the risk of homelessness
     09 Oct: Nicholas Hoult has announced he will miss his scheduled appearance at the upcoming New York Comic-Con after undergoing knee surgery that has left him unable to walk or fly
     09 Oct: Taylor Swift welcomes the "chaos" of the huge range of reactions to her latest album
     09 Oct: Angelina Jolie does not regret having a double mastectomy
     09 Oct: Taylor Swift teased Selena Gomez's old fashion choices in her wedding speech
     09 Oct: Charlie Sheen "felt awful" hanging around with the Brat Pack before getting famous himself
     09 Oct: Kerry Katona says her mother needs to move into "assisted living" after suffering a "really bad fall"
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Seven All Blacks squad members are free for the NPC quarter-finals More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Hopes incoming rules on methamphetamine contamination will lower costs for all More...



     Today's News

    International:
    Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement. What does this mean for the Gaza peace plan? 22:27

    Law and Order:
    Police are praising the public for intervening, following the assault of an older woman in Rotorua 21:57

    Law and Order:
    Two people have been arrested in Marlborough today, as Police crackdown on meth in the region 21:17

    International:
    Future of pokies boss hangs in balance after US gaming licence troubles 21:07

    International:
    How reading romance has helped keep the spark alive for this couple 18:57

    Business:
    Hopes incoming rules on methamphetamine contamination will lower costs for all 18:57

    Motoring:
    A person's in a critical condition after a five-vehicle crash that's closed State Highway One in Canterbury, near Hinds - between Windermere and Swamp Roads 18:37

    Cricket:
    Star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is promising a miraculous return in Australia's upcomingTwenty20 series against India after having surgery on a broken arm 18:07

    Motoring:
    Kiwi driver Ryan Wood has gapped the field in the first practice for Sunday's Bathurst 1000, but team mate Chaz Mostert has stolen the early headlines with a high-speed crash 17:47

    Netball:
    The Silver Ferns are parking any difference in opinion among the group as they turn their attention to next week's Constellation Cup netball series against Australia 17:37


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd