Roger Waters faces setback in libel battle against filmmaker

Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters faces a High Court libel case after accusing documentary maker John Ware of “cheerleading the genocide” of Palestinians and of being a “lying, conniving Zionist mouthpiece.”

Waters was sued for libel by Ware over the comments made on Al-Jazeera's, The Stream, and which Ware denies. The musician further called Ware a “pro-Zionist, pro-genocider”.

Al Jazeera is also named as a defendant in the case for airing the comments.

In a judgement that was handed down on Tuesday morning, Mrs Justice Eady found that Water's claim that Ware supports genocide was a statement of fact, not opinion, with both parties agreeing that the remarks were “defamatory of the claimant at common law”. This will likely make the case harder for Waters to defend as he cannot claim that those remarks were his honestly held opinion or that they weren't defamatory.

Instead, he will have to prove that the remarks were substantially true, that their publication was in the public interest or that they were legally privileged.

Although it is not a ruling on the substantive case, it in effect means the defence will likely have to settle or it will go to trial, according to prominent barrister Simon Myerson KC. Al-Jazeera could also be exposed to a claim for damages as a result.

The rocker’s comments followed a documentary made about him presented by Ware. The programme, entitled The Dark Side Of Roger Waters and produced for the Campaign Against Antisemitism, sought to example the evidence “for the charge that Roger Waters is an antisemite”.

Waters has long denied accusations of antisemitism levied against him over the years.

Controversy stemmed particularly from a set that included giant inflatable pigs bearing stars of David at one gig.

In the 37-minute CAA documentary, Waters described in an 2010 email his idea for the pigs to have the words “dirty k***”, “follow the money” and “scum” written on them.

The pig displaying a star of David at the concert[Missing Credit]

Waters said the offensive words were his “brainstorming ideas on how to make the evils and horrors of fascism and extremism apparent."

Waters has also repeatedly claimed a “Jewish lobby” exerts its influence over the music industry and the United States.

He is a strong supporter of the BDS movement and a vocal critic of the Jewish State, which he has likened to Nazi Germany, and the IDF, which he has claimed targets its own citizens in "false flag" operations.

Polly Sampson, wife of former bandmate David Gilmour, wrote on Twitter in 2023 that Waters was antisemitic, which her husband maintained was “demonstrably true”.