Roger Waters, lead singer for the legendary rock band Pink Floyd, has lost a $4 million sponsorship deal from American Express for their upcoming 2017 concert tour. American Express dumped Pink Floyd due to Roger Waters’ very public backing of the anti-Israel BDS movement.
Waters is one of Israel’s biggest critics of the Jewish State’s policies in the Palestinians territories. According to Page Six’s Emily Smith’s exclusive story, potential sponsors are running away from Roger Waters over his views on Israel.
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According to its website, American Express recently withdrew from an investment in Waters’ upcoming concerts, after it helped sponsor Waters’ Oldchella Desert Trip festival (Coachella for the senior set featuring rock legends Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, and the Rolling Stones.)
“I’m going to send out all of my most heartfelt love and support to all those young people on the campuses of the universities of California who are standing up for their brothers and sisters in Palestine and supporting the BDS movement, ” the former Pink Floyd front man said, according to CBS News, “in the hope that we may encourage the government of Israel to end the occupation.”
Officials from American Express stated in response to the reports: “The company was asked to pay $4 million in expenses for the tour, but changed its mind because it did not want to be part of his anti-Israel discourse. We never committed to sponsor Waters’ upcoming performances. After they came to us with an offer, we decided to pass and did not present a counteroffer.”
According to Page Six, Waters has known that there are consequences for standing up against the occupation, and that keeps others silent.
Roger Waters said, “I have been accused of being a Nazi and an anti-Semite for the past 10 years. My industry has been particularly recalcitrant in even raising a voice [against Israel] . . . I’ve talked to a lot of them, and they are scared s – – tless. If they say something in public, they will no longer have a career. They will be destroyed, ”
But the show will go on. Reports claimed that Citibank has offered to sponsor the tour, but Citi SVP, Public Affairs, Jennifer Bombardier send a correction:
Citi offered a limited time pre-sale of tickets for cardmembers for select shows, as we do for thousands of concerts by different artists every year. While advertised as the ‘official card’ for payment purposes, the pre-sale was in no way an endorsement of the artist’s personal views. The pre-sale has ended and we have no plans to work with this artist in the future.
It should be noted that many international artists have spoken out about Israeli policies and their careers continue and even thrive.
