The Pink Floyd co-founder is no stranger to controversy over his outspoken stance on Western imperialism, with his comments accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
Also remarks at the UN saying that Russia’s military operation in Ukraine was not unprovoked sparking fury among Western governments and the mainstream media.
German Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) is reportedly planning to axe its 2016 publishing deal with 80-year-old rock legend Roger Waters over his inflammatory comments on the crises in Israel and Ukraine, and his outspoken criticism of the USA.
Waters mentioned being fired by BMG in an interview with independent journalist Glenn Greenwald late last year, citing pressure from Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League pro-Israeli lobbying group, over his outspoken position on the conflict in Gaza.
After the October 7, 2023 escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, Waters, a longtime self-professed pro-Palestinian peace activist, accused Israel of committing genocide and suggested that its leaders and any Western leaders who support it should be prosecuted under the Genocide Convention.
On Ukraine, Waters was invited by Russia to speak at a meeting of the UN Security Council last February, where he condemned all sides in the conflict but emphasized that that Russia’s special military operation was not unprovoked and the provocateurs must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
Waters’ nuanced stance on the Ukrainian crisis led his name to be placed on a notorious ‘kill list’ website linked to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Consistently speaking out against the suspected crimes of the UK government as a willing accomplice and satellite of the American Empire, Rogers has decried the US Empire as the most evil of all by a factor of at least ten times.
The record label signed a contract with Waters in 2016 and was set to release a newly recorded version of Pink Floyd’s iconic 1973 album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’.
However, after the company hired a new CEO last year, the deal was scrapped and the record ended up being released by a UK-based label. Waters was Pink Floyd’s lead lyricist, co-lead vocalist and band leader between 1968 and 1985.
He was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, and has often been characterized as one of the top rock singer-songwriters of all time.
Sputnik / ABC Flash Point News 2024.
Among all Pink Floyd members he is the one who actually lives in accord with what he express through creativity. That is also what distinguish him as an actual leader of the band, comparing to other members. Ultimate respect, Roger!
Bertelsmann is maximally toxic. Politico (itself a toxic vehicle of 100% anti-Russian Axel Springer Verlag) writes in “How Europe’s biggest media company infiltrated the EU”: At a time when Europe is under threat from all sides, the Bertelsmann empire is stepping into the breach. With its staunchly pro-European ideals, deep pockets and broad reach across the Continent’s political landscape, it’s uniquely placed to do so; Message control has been a Bertelsmann specialty for nearly two centuries. One may note that this was so during the 1940s when a lot of things were going on (DW: “thrived during World War II… Read more »
This is for Palestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸!! It lives in people’s hearts and minds 24/7. No amount of bombing campaigns and atrocities can kill their will for freedom and re-conquest of their homeland.
Well said !