Reggie Watts has responded to Thom Yorke‘s comments explaining his stance towards the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
The solo star and frontman of Radiohead and The Smile took to social media on May 30th to speak out on the conflict, following a clash with a protester during a solo show last October. During the show, he left the stage abruptly when the person in the crowd interrupted his set.
Watts has reacted, sharing a post to Instagram in which he said he was “disappointed to see that Thom’s statement centers his hurt feelings and frames his fans’ demands for him to speak up as a “social media witch hunt,” instead of recognizing the urgency of their call for him to speak out against the world-historical humanitarian crisis in Palestine.”
He continued: “I hope Thom will reflect and decenter himself from the public outcry against the genocide, because if he and his artistic legacy stand for love and humanity as he asserts, he can come to see his fans’ actions as an act of loving solidarity with suffering people–a needed affirmation of our humanity in these dark times.
“l also want to address Thom’s repetition of a common rhetorical tactic of those who are devoted to maintaining the status quo, that one cannot speak up or demand an end to the genocide unless they fully understand the deep “complexity” of this historical conflict.”
Watts went on to urge Yorke’s fans to “reject this conviction-neutralizing, demobilizing sentiment and trust their hearts,” adding: “You don’t need to be a geopolitics scholar to know that starving children and slaughtering families is wrong.
“Your membership in the human family gives you authority and, indeed, responsibility to speak up. All positive change starts with conscious and loving people raising their voices and working together to bring a better world into existence. Please keep fighting until our sisters and brothers in Palestine are free.”
