Thom Yorke challenges pro-Palestinian protester at gig

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke walked off stage in Melbourne on Wednesday night after an audience member interrupted his solo show in protest against the war in the Middle East.

Yorke stopped playing during the encore of his second sold-out show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl after a man in the stalls began shouting.

Thom Yorke performed without incident at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, on Tuesday.Credit: Martin Philbey

The audience member screamed, in part, “How many dead children will it take for you to condemn the genocide in Gaza?”

Yorke responded, “Hop up on the f---ing stage and say what you wanna say. 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 then.”

Yorke, who’d already played for two hours, then took his guitar off and walked off the stage.

The crowd was booing loudly before chanting for Yorke, who returned a couple of minutes later and played Radiohead hit Karma Police. At his Tuesday night show, he ended the show with Lucky.

Thom Yorke being heckled by a pro-Palestine protester at his show in Melbourne last night. Credit: X

Radiohead faced criticism in 2017 for going ahead with a concert in Tel Aviv despite calls for them to boycott Israel as part of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement.

At the time, Yorke addressed the backlash on X (then Twitter), saying, “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. As we have in America. We don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America.”

The post continued, “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.”

Criticism from fans has grown following Israel’s response to Hamas’ October 7 attack and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

In May, Yorke’s bandmate Jonny Greenwood was called out for playing a show in Tel Aviv with Israeli artist Dudu Tassa, with the pro-Palestine BDS movement accusing him of “artwashing genocide”.

In a statement issued after the performance, BDS wrote, “We call for peaceful, creative pressure on his band Radiohead to convincingly distance itself from this blatant complicity in the crime of crimes, or face grassroots measures.”

In response, Greenwood said calls to boycott the work of Israeli Jewish artists “feels unprogressive”, adding, “no art is as ‘important’ as stopping all the death and suffering around us. How can it be? But doing nothing seems a worse option. And 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.”

In June, comedian Jerry Seinfeld clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in his audiences in both Sydney and Melbourne.

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