Days after his former bandmate Dave Gilmour reiterated claims that he is “anti-Semitic to his rotten core” and a “Putin apologist,” Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters stated he thinks Ukraine is “ruled by Nazis” and is “not really a nation.”
In an in-depth interview with The Telegraph conducted before his next summer tour, Waters, 79, made the comments and criticized Gilmour, 76, for having “nothing to say.”
In a statement on the crisis in Ukraine, Waters first told the newspaper that he thought it was “f***ing ridiculous” to think that Russia’s invasion was unprovoked before asserting that “Nazis are in charge” of Ukraine’s government.
Waters said that certain critiques of Putin were unjust, citing a previous piece he had written on the subject: “I wrote approximately three months ago labeling Vladimir Putin a thug… It’s possible that was unjust. It’s possible that he’s governing his nation for the sake of all Russians.
Additionally, he described Ukraine as being “deeply split,” “not really a nation at all,” and more of a “patchy ambiguous experiment.”
The wife of former bandmate Gilmour, Polly Samson, leveled accusations of anti-Semitism against the co-founder of Pink Floyd online.
Samson, 60, called Waters “antisemitic to (his) rotten core” and a “Putin apologist” in a series of remarks that seemed to be in reaction to an article about Israel that Waters had posted.
On social media, Gilmour endorsed his wife’s assertions.
Waters responded by calling the allegations “wildly false” and “incendiary,” and he also said he was “seeking guidance on his stance.”
The artist recently refuted accusations that he was an anti-Semite in an interview with the German publication Berliner Zeitung.
The artist shared the post on Twitter and stated: “The Truth Will Set Us Free.”
“In light of the absurd and abhorrent slander attempt by the Israeli lobby to label me as an anti-Semite which I am not, never have been, and never will be.
In the essay, Waters accused Israel of committing “genocide” and likened the current situation to how Britain acted “during our colonial time.”
Like the Israelis in Palestine, he said, we thought ourselves to be fundamentally superior to the native population. Well, neither are the Israeli Jews nor were we.
Waters mentioned the simmering conflicts amongst the former band members in an interview with the Telegraph.
Waters is convinced he has the right to do anything he wants with the legendary The Dark Side of the Moon album from 1973 because “it’s [his] project and [he] created it.” Waters said he had covertly re-recorded it.
Additionally, he criticized Gilmour as being uncreative and having “nothing to say.”
Together with Syd Barrett (guitar, lead vocals), Nick Mason (drums), and Richard Wright, Waters formed Pink Floyd in 1965. (keyboards, vocals).
Barrett departed the group the next year as a result of mental health issues, while Gilmour joined the group two years later in 1967.
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