In a jaw-dropping interview that left viewers stunned, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters hurled a verbal grenade into the already volatile Israel-Hamas conflict. The 80-year-old rock icon, known for his incendiary political views, flatly denied Hamas committed sexual assaults during the October 7 attack on Israel, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary.
Waters locked horns with British journalist Piers Morgan in a heated exchange that quickly spiraled into chaos. "Filthy and disgusting lies!" Waters thundered, dismissing Israel's accounts of the attack that left 1,200 dead and 250 hostage.
As Morgan valiantly battled to inject facts into the conversation, Waters dug in his heels. "Completely false!" he insisted, even as Piers maintained it "has been established" that rapes did take place. The rock star's denial flew in the face of UN confirmations, Hamas confessions, and harrowing survivor testimonies.
Then, in a surreal twist, Waters appeared to short-circuit mid-argument. He suddenly turned away from Morgan, as if addressing an invisible presence off-camera. In a bizarre whispered soliloquy, he muttered, "Calm down, don't sink to his level!" Moments later, he snapped back to face a bewildered Morgan, pasting on an incongruous grin and chirping, "Sorry, what were you saying?"
The musician's wild claims didn't stop there - he even falsely declared that 9-month-old hostage Kfir Bibas had been released, accusing a flabbergasted Morgan of "making that up" when corrected.
The fallout was swift and merciless. Waters' former Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour publicly skewered him, joined by a chorus of music industry heavyweights including Mick Jagger and Elton John. The Campaign Against Antisemitism didn't mince words, calling Waters' denial "nauseating."
This latest controversy is just another verse in Waters' long-running song of contention. His views have caused uproar from Tel Aviv to Washington, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branding his rhetoric as hateful and baseless. Jewish organizations worldwide have not only condemned Waters but are calling for a full-scale boycott of his performances.
Roger Waters may have traded his bass for a soapbox, but the tune he's playing is striking all the wrong chords - and his on-air meltdown has only amplified the discord.
* Express, DailyMail, JPost and Israel HaYom contributed to this article.
