Radiohead's Thom Yorke Takes On 'Coward' Pro-Palestinian Heckler
Radiohead's Thom Yorke didn't hold back from challenging an anti-Israeli protester to come on stage and repeat what he said to his face.
"Don't stand there like a coward, come here and say it!" Radiohead frontman Yorke screamed after stopping his set mid-song due to the audience member's blatant rudeness as he kept interrupting the performance.
"Hop on the f'n stage and say what you wanna say!" the 56-year-old continued before asking "You really want to piss on everyone's night?"
PRO-HAMAS SUPPORTERS HAVE BEEN REPEATEDLY INTERRUPTING EVENTS
The audience began booing the heckler at first before then applauding Yorke's reaction. That didn't stop the audience member though, who paid money to attend the show just to be an A-hole to Yorke, the rest of his band and the other audience members.
"How many dead children will it take for you to condemn the genocide in Gaza?" the protester continued, trying to pressure Yorke into responding to him.
It didn't work. Instead, Yorke peace'd out and walked off stage. "Okay, you do it, see you later then," Yorke said before dropping his mic and heading backstage. He would eventually return to the stage and sing the band's iconic song ‘Karma Police' as the crowd gave a massive round of applause after.
The protester is believed to be part of what is known as the BDS movement, which stands for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. The group has been active in recent years as it continues to push a cultural boycott of Israel based on its treatment of Palestinians. Israel is currently involved in a war against Hamas and Hezbollah over their support of terrorist groups that have repeatedly attacked Israel, including last year's October 7 terror attacks in which more than 1,000 people were killed with hundreds taken hostage - many of whom still remain in captivity.
It's not the first time BDS has gone after Yorke during his solo performances or with Radiohead as a full band.
"Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing the 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 [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu any more than [former U.S. President Donald] Trump, but we still play in America. Music, art, and academia is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds and not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue, and freedom of expression," Yorke responded at the time.
Whereas other celebrities have caved or changed their opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it appears that Yorke isn't having any of it and clearly has no issue fighting back with protesters.