Roger Waters, the English singer who is often the source of bold statements, has once again made it to the spotlight. Waters has a fearless personality and has used his right to expression to express his mind several times.
He often makes questionable statements that land him in trouble. His latest controversy arose due to his constant anti-Israel behavior and statements, due to which the German government canceled his planned concert in Frankfurt.
Roger Waters and His Concert Cancelation
Roger was scheduled to perform at Frankfurt’s Festhalle on May 28 as part of his This Is Not A Drill European tour.
However, the Frankfurt city council and the Hessian state government jointly agreed to cancel the performance in an attempt to “set an example against antisemitism” last month.
Waters reacted by denying any anti-Semitic behavior and issued a statement on Thursday that called the show’s cancelation a “blatant attempt to silence him.”
However, a statement issued by the Frankfurt City Council stated:
“The background to the cancelation is the persistent anti-Israel behavior of the former Pink Floyd frontman, who is considered one of the most widely spread antisemites in the world.
“He repeatedly called for a cultural boycott of Israel and drew comparisons to the apartheid regime in South Africa, and put pressure on artists to cancel events in Israel,” the statement said.
The decision was approved by the Magistrate of the City of Frankfurt on 24 February.
The statement added: “The magistrate, therefore, feels called upon to set a clear signal against antisemitism that is supported by society as a whole.“
It was also brought to the knowledge that the concert organizer, Messe Frankfurt, will be informed to terminate the contract with the concert agency. Adding that “the letter of termination for this is currently being voted on”.
The After-effects of the Cancelation
The cancelation by Frankfurt City Council set in motion a series of collective protests by other city councils as well. A motion to postpone a concert planned for May 21 at the Munich Olympiahalle was made by the Munich City Council four days later, on February 28.
The motion called Waters to be someone who “keeps stirring up anti-Semitic resentment” and also accused him of “spreading conspiracy ideologies that justify Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.“
In a statement sent by his management on Thursday, the 79-year-old stated that he will file a lawsuit over the “unjustifiable decision” and threatened to do so.
“Roger Waters fights back” was the title of the statement, which claimed that the authorities had “exceptional and prejudiced intention” to postpone the show.
The actions of Frankfurt and Munich officials were also criticized as “unconstitutional, without justification and based on the false accusation that Roger Waters is anti-Semitic, which he is not.“
“As a result of this unilateral, politically motivated action, Mr. Waters has instructed his lawyers to immediately take all necessary steps to overturn this unjustifiable decision to ensure that his fundamental human right to freedom of speech is protected and that all of those who wish to see him perform is free to do so in Frankfurt, Munich and in any other city in any other country.
“Mr. Waters believes that if this blatant attempt to silence him is left unchallenged, it could have serious, far-reaching consequences for artists and activists all over the world.“
The Roger Waters website is still selling tickets for the Frankfurt and Munich concerts.
According to the German newspaper Algemeiner, a cross-party group of city council members in Cologne is now calling for the cancelation of a show scheduled for May 9. An open letter said, “there must be no room for antisemitic content on our stages“.
Rogers also has a history of calling Russia’s attack on Ukraine “provoked.” He has supported Putin and called him to be careful and a governor with a consensus. He has also criticized US President Joe Biden.
Conclusion
Roger Waters, the infamous English singer who is known to constantly make controversial statements, has announced to take legal action because of the blatant cancelation of his shows in Munich and Frankfurt.
He called the action a way of silencing him while the legal bodies stated the reason for condemnation to set an example against antisemitism.
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