Waters’ defence comes after an investigation by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) uploaded a video accusing him of repeated derogatory references to Jews. The Dark Side Of Roger Waters, which is available on YouTube, includes a number of serious claims by those who have worked with the outspoken ex-Floyd bassist over the years, including Bob Ezrin, the co-producer behind the band’s acclaimed 1979 album The Wall.

Watch the video below:

Waters, who was initially reluctant to acknowledge CAA’s allegations, has now published a lengthy statement dismissing the documentary as “a flimsy, unapologetic piece of propaganda” and “without any foundation in fact”.

“All my life I have used the platform my career has given me to support causes I believe in,” he wrote. “I passionately believe in universal human rights. I have always worked to make the world a better, more just and more equitable place for all my brothers and sisters, all over the world, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, from indigenous peoples threatened by the U.S. oil industry to Iranian women protesting for their rights.”

“That is why I am active in the non-violent protest movement against the Israeli government’s illegal occupation of Palestine and its egregious treatment of Palestinians,” he continued. “Those who wish to conflate that position with antisemitism do a great disservice to us all.”

Waters goes on to explain that the CAA’s core purpose is “waging partisan political campaigns against critics of the state of Israel” and that the organisation “manipulates footage and quotations to serve its agenda”.

“The film totally distorts and misrepresents my views about the Israeli state and its political ideology, Zionism,” he continues. “It relies on a definition of antisemitism that sees criticising Israel as inherently antisemitic and assumes that Zionism is an essential element in Jewish identity. These opinions, clearly shared by the presenter and the two interviewees, are widely contested by many, including many Jewish people.”

Read Waters’ full statement, which also addresses more concrete accusations, here.

The record-breaking songwriter is, of course, no stranger to controversy – allegations of antisemitism have plagued him throughout 2023. He drew criticism earlier this year for performing in a Nazi-like get-up during a concert in Berlin, prompting an investigation from the German police.

Waters, however, has always maintained he is not an antisemite and claims critics are missing the point of his shows.

Photo credit: Sharon Alagna

The BBC has revealed that a total of 6 complaints were received about the behaviour of Tim Westwood- one of which was referred to the police and was described by representatives as; “historic” and “found in its files.”. This is since the Director-General of the BBC Tim Davie said at the time; “we have looked at our records and seen no evidence of complaints”.

The representatives of the beloved broadcasting company went on to say; “We are establishing the facts around it”-saying the matter; “did not relate to conduct at the BBC, BBC premises, or conduct towards a BBC staff member, nor was it an accusation of physical assault.”

The 5 other complaints have not been brought to the attention of the police and the BBC at this time declines to share when they were received and whether they came after the statements made by Davie.

The Statement from the BBC read; “As we have said, if people have things that they want to raise with the BBC, then they should do so. People have now done so and we will continue to investigate.  We also said that we would dig into what happened in the past. We are doing that with great care. All of that work hasn’t concluded and is ongoing. We said we would take this seriously, and we are. When that work has concluded, we will say more.”

The allegations against Tim Westwood were the product of an investigation by the BBC and the Guardian and also were featured in a BBC documentary titled; Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power.

 The victims range in age from late teens to 20s and their stories share a commonality in that often Mr Westwood took advantage of his notoriety in the UK’s rap and RNB scene to carry out the assaults. As stated by one of the alleged victims; “He could make or break your career, if you wanted to get any kind of exposure, you would try to get your demo to him and pray that he would play it. He had absolute power. Within the recording industry and the black community, despite him being a white man, he had absolute power.”

Born in East Anglia as the son of the former Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, Westwood first made a name for himself in the late 80s as a budding radio DJ who championed Hip-Hop, Grime and R’N’B in the UK. With a myriad of shows and TV appearances, Westwood was seen by many as a controversial figure. However, his popularity which has grown considerably over his many years in broadcasting has made him a figurehead in the UK rap scene.

Yet currently as part of a joint investigation conducted by the BBC and The Guardian, 7 women (all of whom are black, and range in ages from their late teens to early 20s at the time of the alleged assaults) have stepped forward to speak out against Westwood publicly. Their stories will come to light in an upcoming BBC 3 documentary titled; Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power which will air at 21:00 tonight (26^th April 2022).The victims’ identities remain anonymous at this time and bear no affiliation to one another. The Guardian’s breaking story stated that; “Three women have accused the DJ of opportunistic and predatory sexual behaviour, while four others allege they were groped by him at events.”

Tamara (alias), who was 17 at the time she first encountered Westwood (who at the time was in his mid-30s and lauded as a tastemaker in the music world) explained; “He could make or break your career, if you wanted to get any kind of exposure, you would try to get your demo to him and pray that he would play it. He had absolute power. Within the recording industry and the black community, despite him being a white man, he had absolute power.”

With the alleged actions taking place both publicly and domestically, such stories about Tim Westwood had previously surfaced online back in 2020. In the age of social media, the topic of sexual abuse and the search for justice for those affected has become widely discussed. The platforms give rise to victims acting together, in order to bring such issues to light.

Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power is available to stream now on BBC IPlayer and will be broadcast on terrestrial TV this evening at 21:00 BST.

If you or someone you know want to find help regarding sexual assault, follow the link here.

In light of accusations of sexual misconduct made on TikTok, pop-punk band All Time Low have recently published a statement denying said accusations outright. The accusations, made towards guitarist Jack Bakarat, included an allegation that such sexual abuse occured towards a minor. In a statement published on Twitter, All Time Low say that “allegations being brought against us are absolutely and unequivocally false.” 

“When a TikTok video gained traction a few weeks ago alluding to inappropriate behavior within our camp, we chose not to respond because of the glaring inconsistencies in the story and the apparent reluctance to mention us by name,” the band explains in their statement, attempting to discredit the allegations.

“We believe victims. We stand with victims. We have only ever wanted to cultivate and nurture a culture around our show and band that is welcoming, healthy, and safe.” The statement then goes on to stress the falseness of the allegations once more, but that they again stand with victims, while also standing for the truth. Fans and audiences on Twitter have noted an apparent inconsistency in denying allegations yet claiming to stand with victims, with one user saying “how can you say ‘we believe victims’ but that 90+ allegations are ‘outright … and utterly false’.”

In a description of the alleged sexual abuse, according to The Guardian, an unnamed woman says “I now realise that I was being manipulated by a man who groomed me during a time when I was an emotionally vulnerable child.” Another woman alleges that Bakarat took her on a tour bus when she was 13 wherein Bakarat allegedly attempted to take off her bra. After one woman posted a TikTok making allegations of sexual misconduct, several other allegations were made in the comments, in a video that can be seen here, complete with the comments.