Radiohead’s Thom Yorke quits stage after criticizing Gaza

Thin-skinned Radiohead star Thom Yorke stormed off stage during a performance in Melbourne on Wednesday night after being heckled by the only pro-Palestinian protester in a crowd of thousands. Yorke has long been criticized by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement due to his band’s regular performances in Israel. Yorke, who called the BDS movement a “cultural ban,” was interrupted by a man in the crowd who shouted at him about “Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip,” shouting that half of the dead “were children.” Instead of using the sound amplification technology at his disposal to drown out the lone man, York stopped playing and said, “Come here and say it. Right here, come on. Get on the damn stage and say what you want to say. Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it. Do you want to quarrel with everyone at the party? The protester, thus encouraged to speak his mind, proceeded to do so, to which Yorke replied, “OK, do it, then I’ll see you later,” and walked off the stage to astonished cheers from the crowd. He returned a few minutes later to perform his final song of the night, Radiohead’s 1997 hit “Karma Police.” The Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne seats 13,000 fans and has sold out.

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