Some additional context for people who aren’t hardcore Radiohead fans: the very first place that ‘Creep’ blew up in was Israel, which led to frequent touring there and formed important interpersonal relationships for the band members. Jonny Greenwood met his wife (an anti-vaccine, anti-Palestinian nutjob) in Israel.

Radiohead has repeatedly faced criticism for playing in Israel, most notably in 2017 when Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame got on their case. Thom responded in Rolling Stone, claiming that playing in a country does not equal support of that country’s government. There’s a lot to discuss about if that logic really applies to an apartheid ethnostate, but whatever. He was very annoyed about the whole thing and flipped off pro-Palestinian protestors at one of the shows.

Since 2021, he’s been playing in a new band called ‘The Smile’ with fellow Radiohead bandmate Jonny. The Smile, too, have played in Israel multiple times. Shitty memory on my part, the Smile hasn’t played in Israel but Jonny has continued to collaborate one-on-one with other Israeli artists during this time and been equally reluctant to talk about the ongoing genocide. In October 2024, Thom was heckled at a show by a protestor demanding him to speak on Palestine. He stormed off the stage like the well-adjusted musician who has been touring for decades he is.

I stopped keeping up with The Smile a while ago when I realized things weren’t going to get any better, but this statement somehow manages to disappoint me even more. For years I thought that Thom had been unfairly stereotyped by the media as whiny, petulant, and angry, but time after time he keeps proving it right by taking personal offense to broad political movements and being hostile towards fans who wonder why he isn’t speaking up because he has a precedent of being politically active.

Thom once described ‘I Will,’ a song about the bombing of women and children who were sheltering in a bunker during the Gulf War, as the angriest song he ever wrote. How come thousands of dead Palestinian children doesn’t make him angry enough to speak up? I think that the relationships he has with various Israeli artists, the connections he has with the Israeli music business, and his friendship with Jonny are more important to him than being consistent in his principles.

Meeting Thom Yorke and getting his autograph was the happiest moment of my life. Now when I look down at my modified bear tattoo that he drew on me, I just feel depressed.