Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke walked off the stage during a recent performance after being yelled at by a pro-Palestinian heckler in the audience.
The incident occurred on Wednesday night during a solo show in Melbourne, Australia. A video circulating on social media captured the moments after a concert attendee yelled at Yorke as he performed at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
“Don’t stand there like a coward,come here and say it!”
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke responded to an anti-Israel hackler who kept yelling about Gaza throughout his show in Melbourne today.
Yorke left the stage and came back after the crowd kicked out the protester. pic.twitter.com/a5yhtBWpTo
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) October 30, 2024
“Do you condemn the Israeli genocide of Gaza?” the heckler shouted, per NBC News.
“Come up here and say that. Right here. Come on. Come up on the f***ing stage and say what you want to say,” Yorke can be heard saying in reply.
“Don’t stand there like a coward. Come here and say it,” the singer continued. “Come on. You want to piss on everybody’s night? Come on.”
Yorke concluded, “OK, you do. See you later, then.”
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Yorke then left the stage but returned later and performed “Karma Police,” according to social media users.
Radiohead has been targeted for its decision to perform in Tel Aviv in the past.
In 2017, a group called Radiohead Fans for Palestine wrote several open letters urging Yorke and his band to cancel their scheduled appearances. Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters and British film director Ken Loach led the effort to have Radiohead reconsider the show, per CNN.
The 56-year-old singer responded at the time, saying, “Playing in a country is not the same as endorsing its government.”
“We’ve played in Israel for over 20 years through a succession of governments, some more liberal than others. As we have in America. We don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America,” he wrote in a conversation with Loach on X at the time.
“Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds, not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue and freedom of expression. I hope that makes it clear, Ken.”
