Radiohead have been embroiled in controversy surrounding their stance on Israel and Palestine, and now the group's most outspoken pro-Palestine member, guitarist Ed O'Brien, has come to the defence of his bandmates.
On Instagram on Wednesday (July 2), O'Brien posted a Glastonbury Festival wrap-up in which he praised Kneecap — who have been outspoken in their support of Palestine — and wrote, "Free Palestine."
Then, in response to a fan's comment about Radiohead on the thread, O'Brien went into more detail about Palestine. "My brothers abhor what is going on in Gaza," he wrote. "Just because they aren't all over social media or using the exact wording that some feel is necessary does not mean they aren't genuinely upset and angered by what is going on."
"The algorithm feeds division and it's not a place that many of us feel comfortable expressing our anger," O'Brien continued. "If you do then that's fine but people need to understand that for many of my generation, the X-ers, this is not something that is natural .. so we try to avoid it.. for me it's all about the conversation in person or in a community .. I have been reluctant to post because I don't want to add to the doom scrolling."
He added, "Just because some of us don't choose to post on social media doesn't mean we don't feel the pain and also importantly does not equate to being silent at this time .. we just choose to voice it in our daily lives in ways that feel more meaningful to us."
The band's Jonny Greenwood has been at the centre of the most controversy, as he collaborated with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa and performed in Tel Aviv, resulting in protests that led to the cancellation of his UK shows. Fans called upon Thom Yorke for months to make a statement about Palestine, and he did back in May. Last month, the BDS Movement called for a boycott of Radiohead shows.