Video How the lead singer of the band Radiohead reacted after being booed by a pro-Palestine protester

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke walked off stage during a concert in Melbourne after being booed by a pro-Palestine protester.

From the footage filmed by the spectators, a man in the crowd can be heard shouting at the artist about the conflict in Palestine. With the noise in the crowd, it was difficult to hear what he was saying, but he was understood to be shouting “Israeli genocide in Gaza” and then referred to the death toll, saying that “half of them were children”.

The artist called the protester on stage: “Come here and say that. Right here, come on. Get the hell up on stage and say what you want to say. Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it. Do you want to ruin everyone’s evening?”.

The spectator then replied: “How many dead children will it take for you to condemn the genocide in Gaza?”.

Yorke replied: “Okay, do it, see you later then” and left the scene.

The frontman finally returned to close the concert with “Karma Police”, a 1997 Radiohead hit.

It all happened at the end of the concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, the second of two in Melbourne as part of Yorke’s “Everything” tour. He is due to perform in front of the Sydney Opera House on Friday and Saturday.

Yorke has been involved in similar conflicts on the same subject before. He previously criticized the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and supported Radiohead’s decision to perform in Israel.

Radiohead played in Tel Aviv in 2017, defying a call for a BDS-led boycott of the country, which included public criticism from figures such as British director Ken Loach. In a statement on X at the time, directly responding to Loach, Yorke said: “Singing in a country is not the same as supporting the government. I have performed in Israel for over 20 years through a succession of governments, some more liberal than others. Just like we did in America. We don’t support Netanyahu more than Trump, but we still sing in America.”

Another band member received the same criticism in May. Radiohead and Smile musician Jonny Greenwood held a concert in Tel Aviv alongside Israeli artist Dudu Tassa, the BDS movement accusing him of “artwashing genocide”.