Australian musician Nick Cave defended his performances in Israel in an interview, objected to the cultural boycott of Israel, and called the Pink Floyd singer's support of the BDS movement "embarrassing" and "deeply damaging." Roger Waters shared his response with 1.3 million followers, spiraling into a deranged rant.
In a video he posted on Instagram, Waters claimed that The Independent newspaper, which published Cave's interview on the Reason podcast, contacted him for a response, but he doubted they would ever publish it prompting him to post the following video:
Waters began by stating that he was not a fan of Mr. Cave, calling him "the Australian bloke." The caption read: "It's ok to be wrong mate. Obviously, you not opposing Genocide is a biggy? But hey! Nobody's perfect? Just say you're sorry. Not to me, and Brian, we don't give a ****. No, say you're sorry to the Palestinians Join BDS and we'll let bygones be bygones. Love, R."
The former Pink Floyd member continued his response to "The Independent" by describing a fictional scenario, blaming Nick Cave for "whitewashing" several severe accusations. "Dear Nick Cave, we, the Indigenous people of Palestine, in this agony, implore you, please don’t cross the BDS picket line to sing for your supper in Israel. It’s not complicated, Nick. It’s not complicated."
"That act — singing for your supper in Israel, Nick — that act serves to whitewash the 75-year-old Zionist Israeli occupation, land theft, apartheid, and genocide of our people, Nick. Please, please, please follow the example of Roger Waters and Brian Eno and many, many thousands of others who are active in the BDS movement. Nick, pay attention," Waters said.
After describing the fictional scenario, Waters referred to a press conference where Cave called Brian Eno and Roger Waters "cowardly" after they condemned his performance in "genocidal" Israel. Waters continued and said he wrote a short piece called "The Road to Damascus", and digresses by sharing that Nick Cave grew up Methodist. Waters connects Cave's bible studies with the "prophetic stuff in the bible about messiah" before berating him again.
In his description of his story, Waters describes his interaction with an Arab man who was being attacked by Israeli soldiers and his row with Nick Cave. Waters argued with Cave about continuing with the "gig" as they were on their way to perform. Finally, Waters proudly shares how he picked up the BDS badge and began his cultural boycott of Israel.
Waters, who is identified with the BDS movement and is considered one of the extreme voices against Israel, returned to the headlines in recent months after an interview with Piers Morgan where he denied that Hamas burnt babies or used sexual violence as a weapon in the October 7 massacre. Waters claimed that Israel invented the story to justify committing genocide in Gaza. Morgan pointed out that UN reports prove that Hamas raped its victims.
After the interview, several Israeli stations blacklisted Roger Waters and announced that they would stop playing his songs.