Record label ends contract with Roger Waters over criticism of Israel, US

BMG, the world’s fourth largest record label, terminated Roger Water’s contract due to his statements against Israel and the U.S. administration

Germany-based record label BMG has terminated the distribution contract of British singer Roger Waters, the legendary singer of the band Pink Floyd, following his past statements against Israel and the U.S. along with comments supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Variety Magazine reported.

Waters, who founded the band Pink Floyd, said in a November podcast interview with Glenn Greenwald that he was fired following pro-Israel pressure on BMG’s parent company, the German media company Bertelsmann.

In a statement to Variety, BMG said Waters’ account was not true.

Waters said that U.S. President Joe Biden was a war criminal.

The musician was questioned by Berlin police last year for anti-Semitic behavior after appearing on stage in Berlin in an outfit resembling a Nazi SS uniform.

During the same concert tour, he compared the killing of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022 in a clash between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in the West Bank to the killing of Anne Frank in the Holocaust.

Although his next concert in Frankfurt was canceled, the court allowed the concert to take place on the grounds that Waters was exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Source: Newsroom