Why David Gilmour turned down Roger Waters' Wall Live tour and called his politics 'antisemitic in their effect'

When Roger Waters revived The Wall for a massive 2010–2013 world tour, he invited David Gilmour to join him for a few shows—specifically to play “Comfortably Numb,” the song they’d famously performed together at the Berlin Wall concert in 1990. Gilmour said no. His public reason? He wasn’t interested in going backward. But the real sticking point was Waters’ increasingly aggressive political messaging.

Gilmour later told Rolling Stone that Waters had become a “political ranter” and that parts of the show—like the giant pig floating over the audience with a Star of David alongside corporate logos—felt “antisemitic in their effect, if not in their intention.” He wasn’t alone. Critics noted the show painted Israel as a state run by a fascist regime, and Waters had begun comparing Israeli policy to Nazi Germany. Gilmour, who is not Jewish but has always been careful about the band’s legacy, didn’t want his name attached to that.

There was also a stylistic clash. Gilmour found the theatrical ranting out of step with the band’s original spirit. “He wants to be a dictator,” Gilmour said, joking that Waters’ onstage rants were basically the character of Pink becoming real. The rift wasn’t just about politics—it was about