David Gilmour promotes documentary on Roger Waters’ alleged anti-Semitism

5 October, 2023

David Gilmour and Roger Waters

David Gilmour has continued his long running feud with former Pink Floyd bandmate, Roger Waters, by sharing a documentary detailing instances of alleged anti-Semitism from the latter.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Gilmour retweeted a post about a documentary titled The Dark Side Of Roger Waters, originally published by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which produced the project.

Rogers has previously spoken out against the documentary with a post to his official website, dismissing the project as “a flimsy, unapologetic piece of propaganda”. He also claimed that it “indiscriminately mixes things I’m alleged to have said or done at different times and in different contexts, in an effort to portray me as an antisemite, without any foundation in fact”.

The clip shared by Gilmour sees two of Waters’ former collaborators recall their experiences working with the musician, and the instances where they reportedly saw him make anti-Semitic comments.

The first of which was from Waters’ former saxophonist Nortber Statchel, who told BBC journalist John Ware about a time when the Pink Floyd musician allegedly imitated a stereotypically poor Polish woman as a reference to his Jewish ancestors. He also recalled another instance where the bassist expressed outrage at a restaurant serving “Jew food”.

The second of the former collaborators featured in the video was Bob Ezrin, the music producer who helped helm the band’s 1979 album ‘The Wall’. In the clip, Erzin recalled Waters’ speaking about the band’s then-manager, Bryan Morrison, and claims that he described Morrison as a “fucking Jew”.

Elsewhere, the report also unearths an email stemming back from 2012, in which Waters suggests using Jewish imagery and slurs within one of his upcoming shows.

David Gilmour performs
David Gilmour performs. CREDIT: Roberto Panucci/Corbis via Getty Images

Although Gilmour did not provide a comment when sharing the promotional video, the guitarist has spoken openly about the accusations in the past.

This came earlier this year, when his wife, Polly Samson, claimed that Waters was “antisemitic to [his] rotten core,” as well as “a Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac”.

Posted back in February, Gilmour reposted that tweet as well, and told his followers that his spouse’s claims were “demonstrably true”.

Waters himself issued a statement in response to Samson’s comments, saying he “refutes [them] entirely” and that they are “incendiary and wildly inaccurate”. The musician also said he was “taking advice as to his position” regarding Samson’s claims.

Back in June, the US State Department also criticised Waters over his show in Berlin the month prior, describing it as “deeply offensive to Jewish people”.

Roger Waters performs on stage at The O2 Arena during the 'This is Not A Drill' tour, on June 06, 2023
Roger Waters performs on stage at The O2 Arena during the ‘This is Not A Drill’ tour, on June 06, 2023. CREDIT: Jim Dyson/Getty Images

The comments came after the musician appeared on stage at his show wearing a black trench coat with a swastika-like emblem. At the time the musician defended the choice, claiming that the segment was a statement against fascism, injustice and bigotry and called criticism of it “disingenuous and politically motivated”.

In other Roger Waters news, last month the songwriter shared new solo versions of Pink Floyd’s ‘Speak To Me’ and ‘Breathe’, taken from his forthcoming re-recorded version of ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’.

The album – titled ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux’, is Waters’ full-length reimagining of the band’s iconic 1973 album, released later this month to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

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