Roger Waters Fires Back After Backlash, Government Investigation Over Onstage Nazi Garb At Berlin Show: ‘Bad Faith Attacks’

etcanada.com:

Roger Waters is responding after becoming mired in controversy after the Berlin stop on his This Is Not A Drill tour. At one point in the show, the Pink Floyd alum donned a long SS-style leather overcoat adorned with a swastika-like symbol (actually crossed hammers), replete with a Nazi-style red armband, before being handed a prop machine gun and gleefully firing into the crowd.

Anyone familiar with the 1982 film “The Wall” — written by Waters, and based on Pink Floyd’s 1979 concept album of the same name — will recognize the iconography was directly lifted from the movie, in which an alienated rock star refashions himself as a Hitler-style fascist dictator; Waters has worn similar uniforms onstage when performing “The Wall” for several decades.

Nevertheless, given Waters’ frequent criticism of Israel, wearing a Nazi-style uniform onstage in Berlin was not a good look, leading to a firestorm of controversy. READ MORE: Roger Waters Claims He’s On Ukrainian ‘Kill List’ After Comments On Russian Invasion As a result, German authorities have opened an investigation into the matter to determine whether Waters’ performance violated the country’s stringent anti-Nazi laws.

The investigation was launched because Nazi symbols, flags and uniforms are strictly prohibited in Germany, with a police spokesperson telling Reuters that Waters’ onstage uniform was alleged to be “deemed capable of violating the dignity of the victims, as well as approving, glorifying or justifying the violent and arbitrary rule of the Nazi regime in a way that disrupts public peace.” Interestingly, Waters addressed the controversy before if even took place.