Roger Waters defends using anti-Jewish slur revealed in documentary

Roger Waters has justified his plan to write “Dirty kyke” on an inflatable pig at his concerts, after his intentions were revealed in a documentary.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s film, The Dark Side of Roger Waters, presented by investigative reporter John Ware and released last week, also features interviews with Norbert Statchel, Waters’ former saxophonist, and legendary music producer Bob Ezrin, who produced Pink Floyd’s celebrated album The Wall, as well as hits for U2 and Taylor Swift.

Among various incidents, Statchel claims Waters lost his temper over vegetarian food at a restaurant and demanded that waiters “Take away the Jew food”, that Waters mocked his grandmother who was murdered in the Holocaust and that a colleague warned him not to react if he wanted to keep his job. Ezrin, meanwhile, recounts an incident in which Waters sung him an impromptu ditty about then agent Bryan Morrison, the last couplet of which ended with words to the effect of “Cos Morri is a f***ing Jew”.

In a statement posted to his website and shared on X, Waters appeared to confirm that the 2010 email was genuine but did not apologise for using the term.

He wrote: “The offensive words I referenced in quotes in an email 13 years ago, were my brainstorming ideas on how to make the evils and horrors of fascism and extremism apparent and shocking to a generation that may not fully appreciate the ever-present threat. They are not the manifestation of any underlying bigotry as the film suggests. Quite the opposite.”

Waters, who is due to perform at the London Palladium on 8 and 9 October, has long denied he is antisemitic, despite his habit of offending Jews around the world, often appearing to stray beyond his support for Palestinian rights.