The municipality of Frankfurt announced on Friday that it is canceling the upcoming show of former Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters, citing his alleged status as "one of the world's most well-known antisemites" as the reason.
The performance was supposed to take place on May 28 at the "Festhalle" complex in the German city. In the statement of the city council that announced the cancellation, it was noted that the location was also used for the detention of 3,000 Jewish men who were arrested after Kristallnacht, between November 9-10, 1938, in which Nazis attacked Jews and destroyed their property. The men were abused and later deported to concentration camps.
Since 60% of the "Festhalle" shares belonged to the municipality, the city council was able to cancel the performance. They had submitted their decision to a judge to cancel Waters's appearance beforehand.
The council also condemned Waters for his support of the BDS campaign that calls for boycotting Israel and for the pressure he exerted on other artists not to perform in Israel.
They also emphasized the use of antisemitic imagery in Waters' performances, one of which includes a balloon in the shape of a pig with a Star of David printed on it alongside a host of corporate logos.
As part of Waters' concert tour, five shows are planned in Germany in May. There are calls to cancel the performances in Berlin, Munich and Cologne as well. However, lawyers believe that it will be difficult to enforce such bans.
Anti-Ukraine statements
Waters recently got into trouble not only for his antisemitic and anti-Israel stance, but also for his statements toward Ukraine. In an extensive interview with The Telegraph newspaper earlier this month, 79-year-old Waters said that he believes that Ukraine is run by Nazis and that it is "not really a country." Referring to the conflict between it and Russia, the former Pink Floyd singer added that the claim that Russia's invasion happened after there was no provocation "is f***ing crazy", and he also said that in his opinion, some of the criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin is "unfair".
Earlier this month, Waters' former Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour shared a tweet of his partner, and who was a band songwriting partner, writer Polly Samson, in which he hurled harsh accusations at Waters. "Unfortunately, you are antisemitic to the core of your rotten bones," he wrote. "Also supports Putin and is a liar, thief, hypocrite, tax raiser, lipsync, misogynist, jealous, megalomaniac. Enough with your nonsense." Gilmore, who since Waters left Pink Floyd in the mid-1980s serves as the leader of the band, shared the aforementioned tweet and wrote: "Every word is true without a doubt."