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| Radiohead singer confronts Gaza protester at Australian gig | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Watch: Radiohead's Thom Yorke responds to heckler shouting about Gaza | Watch: Radiohead's Thom Yorke responds to heckler shouting about Gaza |
| Radiohead singer Thom Yorke briefly walked off stage during his Australian solo tour after an exchange with an audience member who heckled him with a protest about deaths in Gaza. | Radiohead singer Thom Yorke briefly walked off stage during his Australian solo tour after an exchange with an audience member who heckled him with a protest about deaths in Gaza. |
| Videos posted online by concert-goers at the Melbourne show on Wednesday show a man in the crowd shouting at Yorke. While not all of his words can be heard, he calls on the singer to "condemn the Israeli genocide of Gaza". | Videos posted online by concert-goers at the Melbourne show on Wednesday show a man in the crowd shouting at Yorke. While not all of his words can be heard, he calls on the singer to "condemn the Israeli genocide of Gaza". |
| Yorke responds by telling the heckler to "hop up on stage" to make his remarks. | Yorke responds by telling the heckler to "hop up on stage" to make his remarks. |
| "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," Yorke continues, before removing his guitar and halting his set. | "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," Yorke continues, before removing his guitar and halting his set. |
| His exit came as the heckler had repeated his call and added "how many dead children will it take". | His exit came as the heckler had repeated his call and added "how many dead children will it take". |
| Segments of the crowd could be heard booing the disturbance, and Yorke returned to cheers shortly after to play the Radiohead song Karma Police. | Segments of the crowd could be heard booing the disturbance, and Yorke returned to cheers shortly after to play the Radiohead song Karma Police. |
| Concert-goer Elly Brus said the protester "did not have support" from the Sidney Myer Music Bowl crowd. | Concert-goer Elly Brus said the protester "did not have support" from the Sidney Myer Music Bowl crowd. |
| “He was escorted away by security. He then continued to engage with people outside the venue as well," she told the BBC. | “He was escorted away by security. He then continued to engage with people outside the venue as well," she told the BBC. |
| Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. | Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. |
| More than 43,160 people have been killed in Gaza since then - including thousands of women and children - according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. | More than 43,160 people have been killed in Gaza since then - including thousands of women and children - according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. |
| Both sides deny accusations they have broken the laws of war. | Both sides deny accusations they have broken the laws of war. |
| In the past, Radiohead has faced pressure to cancel shows in Israel and take part in a cultural boycott of the country over its policies towards the Palestinians. | In the past, Radiohead has faced pressure to cancel shows in Israel and take part in a cultural boycott of the country over its policies towards the Palestinians. |
| Yorke pushed back on that pressure, saying that "playing in a country isn't the same as endorsing its government". | Yorke pushed back on that pressure, saying that "playing in a country isn't 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," Yorke said in a statement in 2017, defending a decision to go ahead with a planned concert in Tel Aviv. | "We've played in Israel for over 20 years through a succession of governments, some more liberal than others," Yorke said in a statement in 2017, defending a decision to go ahead with a planned concert in Tel Aviv. |
| "We don't endorse [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America. Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them," he added at the time. | "We don't endorse [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America. Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them," he added at the time. |
| Earlier this year, pro-Palestinian activists also accused Yorke's bandmate Jonny Greenwood of "artwashing" for performing alongside Israeli-Arabic musician Dudu Tassa in Tel Aviv. | Earlier this year, pro-Palestinian activists also accused Yorke's bandmate Jonny Greenwood of "artwashing" for performing alongside Israeli-Arabic musician Dudu Tassa in Tel Aviv. |
| "No art is as 'important' as stopping all the death and suffering around us," Greenwood said in a statement on X. | "No art is as 'important' as stopping all the death and suffering around us," Greenwood said in a statement on X. |
| "But... 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." | "But... 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." |
| The BBC has contacted representatives for Yorke's Australian tour. The Arts Centre Melbourne, which oversees the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, declined to comment. | The BBC has contacted representatives for Yorke's Australian tour. The Arts Centre Melbourne, which oversees the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, declined to comment. |
| Yorke was performing at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne when the incident occurred | Yorke was performing at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne when the incident occurred |