Radiohead’s Thom Yorke Walks Off Stage At Solo Show After Confronting Heckler Over Israel-Hamas War: ‘See You Later Then’

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke left the stage at his solo show in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday night (Oct. 30) after a heckler yelled at him about the war between Israel and Hamas. According to fan footage of the incident at the Sidney Meyer Music Bowl, after the man yelled comments about the “Israeli genocide of Gaza” and made references to the deaths of children during the now year-long war between Israel and militant group Hamas, Yorke stopped the show and challenged the person to say it to his face on stage.

“Come up here and say that. Right here, come on,” said a peeved sounding Yorke as he stood on stage holding his acoustic guitar while some fans booed the heckler, with one telling the person to “shut the f–k up.”

“Hop up on the f–king stage and say what you wanna say,” Yorke continued. “Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it. You want to p–s on everybody’s night?”

After the person then reportedly responded with another comment about the war in Gaza, Yorke seemingly had had enough and said, “OK, you do it, see you later then” and walked off stage. According to The Guardian, the singer returned a few minutes later to play the final song of his set, Radiohead’s “Karma Police.”

Yorke is on his Everything tour, on which he’s playing solo material as well as songs from Radiohead and spin-off group The Smile.

Back in 2017, Yorke defended Radiohead’s decision to perform in Tel Aviv, Israel against critics who have called for a boycott of performances in the country over the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians; Yorke has also criticized the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, saying that BDS prevents necessary dialogue and cultural interactions that could create a positive impact.

In June, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood posted a lengthy note in response to renewed criticism of his long-running collaboration with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa after the pair played a show in Israel in May in the midst of the war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of more than 1,200 Israeli women, children and civilians during a raid by Hamas fighters who also took more than 250 hostages.

In the ensuring war, Israeli forces have reportedly killed more than 42,000 Palestinians according to Palestinian authorities, while also laying waste to much of the infrastructure in Gaza in a war that has now widened to include airstrikes in Iran and Lebanon.