Roger Waters Slams Nick Cave On Katie Halper Show “For fuck’s sake Nick, do the right thing son”
Roger Waters has reignited his long-running feud with Nick Cave, delivering a fiery on-air message during his recent appearance on The Katie Halper Show, in which he told the Australian musician:
“Do the right thing. Think about that, Nick, and if in another life you are reincarnated, for fuck’s sake Nick, do the right thing son.”
The former Pink Floyd frontman’s comments are the latest escalation in a years-long back-and-forth between the two artists over the issue of cultural boycotts and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which Waters strongly supports.
The interview saw Waters retell a now-viral story that’s become something of a parable in his ongoing campaign to persuade musicians not to perform in Israel. Though not naming Cave directly in the story, Waters makes the subtext unmistakably clear.
“So me and this Aussie bloke are walking down the road,” Waters began. “Just as we get there, we see these heavily armed soldiers… I cross over… ‘Can I help?’ ‘Yes,’ he says… ‘They’ve stolen our land… There is a cultural boycott. Please don’t do a gig here.’
‘Don’t you try to bully me, you shameful, cowardly bastard,’ says the Aussie bloke… I return… retrieve the BDS badge… pin it to my lapel. Fuck you, Nick fucking Cave, you fucking prick.”
Waters’ choice of words left little ambiguity. The combination of biting satire and open contempt appeared to reference Cave’s widely reported decision to play shows in Israel in 2017 and his subsequent criticisms of the BDS movement, which he described as “censorship” and “antithetical to free speech.”
Nick Cave has previously defended his decision to tour Israel by arguing that boycotts amount to punishing ordinary fans rather than governments, telling the media at the time: “The decision not to play in Israel was not made for political reasons, but for personal ones — and I stand by that. I simply do not support cultural boycotts of any kind.”
Waters, meanwhile, has been one of the most vocal artists aligned with BDS, and has frequently used his platform to pressure other musicians to cancel appearances in Israel. He’s clashed publicly with several acts over the issue, including Radiohead, Lana Del Rey, and Billie Eilish, though he has also received support from artists like Brian Eno.
This latest outburst reflects both Waters’ growing frustration and the deepening personal tone of the dispute. In contrasting Cave’s stance with what he sees as moral clarity, Waters doubled down: “Do the right thing,” he repeated. “Think about that, Nick… for fuck’s sake… do the right thing, son.”
As of now, Cave has not responded publicly to Waters’ latest comments. However, given the confrontational nature of the remarks, many fans and commentators are expecting a response — either from Cave directly or in his future tour and interview appearances.
Whether the feud will simmer or explode again remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: for Waters, this is no longer just a political disagreement — it’s a test of artistic integrity, fought in the full glare of the public eye.
Read The Road to Damascus in full here.
UPDATE: We’ll update this story if and when Nick Cave responds. Stay tuned.
