Radiohead’s lead singer, Thom Yorke, momentarily exited the stage during his Australian solo tour concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Wednesday. The abrupt departure came after an audience member heckled him with a protest about deaths in Gaza.
A video posted online by concert-goers shows the unidentified man shouting at Yorke, calling on him to “condemn the Israeli genocide of Gaza.” Although not all of his words are audible, Yorke responds, “Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it. You want to piss on everybody’s night? Ok, you do it, see you later.”
As the heckler repeated his plea, adding “how many dead children will it take,” Yorke removed his guitar and halted the performance. Segments of the crowd booed the disturbance, and Yorke returned to cheers shortly after to play Radiohead’s “Karma Police.”
Concert attendee Elly Brus noted that the protester “did not have support” from the crowd. “He was escorted away by security. He then continued to engage with people outside the venue as well,” Brus told the BBC.
This incident follows heightened tensions in the region. Israel launched a campaign against Hamas in response to the group’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken. The Gaza health ministry reports over 43,160 casualties, including women and children, since then.
Radiohead has faced pressure to boycott Israel over its policies toward Palestinians. Yorke defended the band’s decision to perform in Tel Aviv in 2017, stating, “Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government.”
Pro-Palestinian activists recently accused Yorke’s bandmate Jonny Greenwood of “artwashing” for collaborating with Israeli-Arabic musician Dudu Tassa in Tel Aviv. Greenwood responded, “Silencing Israeli artists for being born Jewish in Israel doesn’t seem like any way to reach an understanding between the two sides of this apparently endless conflict.”
Representatives for Yorke’s Australian tour and The Arts Centre Melbourne have been contacted for comment.
