Hating from outside the club when you can’t get in is a very real thing. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters engaged in peak hater behavior during a Friday interview with Canadian publication the Globe and Mail. The 78-year-old musician said that it “seemed odd” The Weeknd’s concert received more media attention from Toronto outlets even though it was canceled due to a power outage.
Waters said to the interviewer: “What’s interesting about you being here with me now is that none of the newspapers in Toronto sent anybody to review my shows. What I’d like to know, what I’d like you to ponder on, and maybe ask your readers, is if they have any theories as to why that may be?”
After the interviewer responded he was assigned The Weeknd’s concert that night, Waters grew even more irritated:
“But the Weeknd was cancelled. And my show was for two nights. I have no idea what or who the Weeknd is, because I don’t listen to much music. People have told me he’s a big act. Well, good luck to him. I’ve got nothing against him. Would it not have been possible to review his show one night and my show another night?”
He went onto say: “And, by the way, with all due respect to the Weeknd or Drake or any of them, I am far, far, far more important than any of them will ever be, however many billions of streams they’ve got. There is stuff going on here that is fundamentally important to all of our lives.”
While the frustration Waters felt is understandable, there was no need to rip down two Black artists to make himself feel relevant. Also, just because the musician says he’s more important than either star won’t make it true.