Disturbed frontman David Draiman suggests in a new interview that it might not go well should he ever meet Roger Waters in person.
The singer has publicly spoken out against longtime Pink Floyd member and solo artist in the past, taking issue with the musician’s numerous allegations of antisemitic views, and in a recent interview with Linda Advocate (as seen at the bottom of this post), he stated when asked if they’d ever crossed paths, “I’d gladly serve whatever jail time and pay the bail necessary for whatever I could get done within a very limited period of time.”
What David Draiman Thinks of Roger Waters
Within Draiman’s recent chat with Linda Advocate, the musician revealed that Waters had rebuked his past attempts to engage in a conversation.
“He’s a piece of work, that deluded old freak. Antisemitic to his rotten core. Just ask David Gilmour and his wife — they’ll testify to it. He’s been that way for the duration of his life and the duration of his career. It’s nothing new. He’s a coward. He’s a hypocrite. He is a supporter of dictators and dictatorial regimes all over the world. He’s an apologist for Putin and apologist for anybody that’s on the wrong side of history. He’s a deluded wannabe-socialist as well.”
The singer then added, “Everything that he wrote about, everything that he professed to believe in that was so — even a maniac can create some great art, and it’s hard to argue with the level of artistry of, let’s say, a piece of work like The Wall. But everything that he was trying to convey and express in that piece of art, he has shown himself to be a hypocrite for. I was already losing my mind with him years ago when he was flying around a pig in his stadiums with the [Jewish] Star Of David on it.”
“The guy is a bully,” he continued. “And he wouldn’t even dare to engage with me. Because it’s not about logic and reasoning and facts and reality to people like him. It’s all about the narrative. It’s all about their hate-fueled antisemitic, just spite-filled narrative that they continue to fuel this narrative of demonization of our people, of the State of Israel, their inability to accept the fact that we even exist. He’s a monster.”
As for whether the two musicians ever crossed paths in the past, Draiman said, “Oh, I’d love to meet him in person. Nothing would make me happier. I’d gladly serve whatever jail time and pay the bail necessary for whatever I could get done within a very limited period of time.”
Check out more of the chat below.
Disturbed’s David Draiman Speaks With Linda Advocate
The Backlash Against Roger Waters
Roger Waters has been openly critical in the past when discussing Israel and has faced accusations from both Jewish groups and some of his musical peers concerning his alleged Antisemetic views. The backlash against Waters ramped up significantly in 2023 due to multiple incidents.
In April 2023, the city council of Frankfurt, Germany canceled a Waters performance in the city, calling out the musician as “one of the world’s most well-known Antisemites” and citing the musician’s support of the BDS campaign that called for a boycott of Israel and the pressure he had exerted on other artists not to perform in the country. They also called out some of the Antisemetic imagery used in his performances.” The singer eventually won a legal battle to perform in the city.
In May 2023, Waters came under fire in Germany for wearing a costume from Pink Floyd’s The Wall film. The long, black leather coat with gloves and a red armband with crossed hammers, and banners with the same hammer symbol hung over his head was something he had worn before, but in Germany it is illegal to evoke Nazi imagery and gestures, given the country’s history with the Holocaust.
Cory Schwartz, Getty Images
An investigation into the incident followed with the U.S. government even weighing in on the incident and Waters eventually releasing his own statement on the matter.
Then in the fall of 2023 a documentary about Waters created by the Campaign Against Antisemitism featured some of his colleagues backing up antisemitism claims against Waters. The singer responded with an admonishment of the film, calling it “a flimsy, unapologetic piece of propaganda that indiscriminately mixes things I’m alleged to have said or done . . . in an effort to portray me as an antisemite, without any foundation in fact.”
David Draiman Honored For Fighting Against Antisemitism
With Antisemitism on the rise, Disturbed vocalist David Draiman has been one of the more vocal musicians using his platform to advocate for Israel and against Jewish hate. His efforts recently yielded him the 2024 joint honor from the Jerusalem Post and the World Zionist Organization for outstanding contribution to the fight against antisemitism.
READ MORE: David Draiman Spreads Message of Unity
While he’s been quite successful as a musician, at one point in his life the singer trained to be a cantor and even considered becoming a rabbi.
Disturbed Albums Ranked
Eight albums = 10,000 and more fists in the air!
Gallery Credit: Chad Childers, Loudwire
