Overview

• In an eight-page Instagram statement on May 30, Yorke labeled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration as extremists who “need to be stopped” and condemned the blockade of Gaza.
• He criticized Hamas for the October 7 attacks and accused the group of exploiting Palestinian suffering for political ends.
• Yorke revealed that the backlash over his initial silence—highlighted by a pro-Palestine heckle in Melbourne—had inflicted a heavy toll on his mental health.
• He warned that online “social media witch-hunts” pressure artists to oversimplify complex conflicts and obstruct meaningful face-to-face debate.
• The statement has intensified discussion over artists’ roles in political discourse, following Jonny Greenwood’s canceled UK shows and public responses from figures like Reggie Watts.