Radiohead’s Thom Yorke says he would ‘absolutely not’ perform under Netanyahu's regime

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has announced that he will no longer perform under Netanyahu's regime, years after the band faced backlash for holding a concert in Tel Aviv in 2017.

In an interview with The Sunday Times conducted before the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Yorke said he would “absolutely not” perform under Netanyahu's regime again.

“I wouldn’t want to be 5,000 miles anywhere near the Netanyahu regime, but Jonny has roots there,” Yorke told the paper, referring to lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.

CNN has reached out to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for comment.

Greenwood, however, said he “politely” disagreed with Yorke’s stance.

“I think the government is more likely to use a boycott to say, ‘Everyone hates us — so we’ll do exactly what we want.’ That’s far more dangerous,” Greenwood said.

He added that the only thing he regretted was involving his bandmates in the controversy. “But I’m not ashamed of working with Arab and Jewish musicians. I can’t apologize for that,” he said.

Radiohead drew criticism from the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement for playing in Tel Aviv during their A Moon Shaped Pool world tour, which ran from 2016 to 2018. The BDS campaign had urged the band to skip Israel over its actions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Last year, Yorke walked off stage during a solo performance in Melbourne, Australia, after being interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protester.

Radiohead is set to embark on their first tour in seven years, with shows across Europe in November and December. When asked by The Sunday Times whether he worried that protests could follow the band again, Yorke replied, “Are you f**king joking?”

“They don’t care about us,” he added. “It’s just about getting something dramatic on Instagram.”

Yorke also said he didn’t think Israel should be allowed to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest, before quipping, “But I don’t think Eurovision should even exist. So what do I know?”

Eurovision, an annual international music competition run by the European Broadcasting Union, has included Israel since 1973. Calls for the country’s exclusion have grown louder amid the ongoing war in Gaza.