Roger Waters, former frontman of Pink Floyd, has once again taken aim at Thom Yorke of Radiohead, describing him as a “timid little bloke” and “unpleasant company” during a recent interview.
The tension between the two has been simmering for years, largely over differing views about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Back in 2017, Yorke played a show in Tel Aviv that Waters and others publicly criticized; Waters later signed an open letter urging Radiohead to reconsider.
More recently, in late 2024, Waters escalated his critique, calling Yorke “damaged,” saying he’s “very, very deeply insecure,” and arguing that Yorke believes he’s very bright — but Waters said he isn’t.
On The Katie Halper Show, when asked about Radiohead, Waters at first resisted, then delivered the latest blow: “He’s a timid little bloke. I think he’s unpleasant company.” He also claimed that he had written Yorke many letters, to which Yorke responded “very snarky” and attempted to be funny. Waters said those exchanges will be included in his upcoming memoir.
Yorke’s own public statements have addressed these controversies. After criticizing Netanyahu and Israel in an Instagram post, Yorke spoke about the pressures on artists to comment on political events, saying that “deliberate polarization … perpetuates a constant ‘us and them’ mentality.”
The feud highlights a clash of values: Waters has long aligned with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and strongly opposes performances in Israel he views as legitimizing injustice. Yorke, while critical of certain policies, has defended that performing in a country does not equate to supporting its government.
