Imagine Dragons Goes Over To The Dark Side

A jarring moment at an Imagine Dragons concert in Milan has stirred outrage and debate. Yesterday (Tuesday), during the band’s performance, frontman Dan Reynolds was seen picking up a Palestinian flag thrown onto the stage, raising it to roaring crowd applause, and draping it over his shoulders as he continued to perform.

The gesture, captured in a screenshot circulating on X, has drawn sharp criticism, especially given the band’s history of performing in Israel before the outbreak of the Swords of Iron war in October 2023.

At the time, Imagine Dragons faced calls to boycott Israel but chose to perform, with Reynolds defending the decision in a 2024 Rolling Stone interview. “I don’t believe in depriving our fans of seeing us just because of the actions of their leaders and governments,” he said, adding, “It’s a very slippery slope. Once you start doing that, where do you draw the line? There are corrupt leaders and warmongers all over the world.”

The question lingers: has Imagine Dragons turned its back on neutrality, or is this just another performance on the “slippery slope” Reynolds once cautioned against?