David Gilmour Slams Door on Roger Waters Reunion, Citing 'Irreparable' Rift Over Antisemitism 

David Gilmour, the iconic guitarist of Pink Floyd, has definitively ruled out any future collaboration with former bandmate Roger Waters, declaring in a candid interview that "there is no possible way" he would share a stage with the 82-year-old bassist amid their decades-long animosity.

The 79-year-old musician's stark dismissal, published in The Telegraph yesterday, shows the irreparable damage from personal betrayals, creative clashes, and explosive accusations of antisemitism that have defined their post-1985 split.

Gilmour and Waters, once the creative engine behind Pink Floyd's psychedelic masterpieces like The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and The Wall (1979), have been estranged since Waters abruptly left the band in 1986, declaring it "a spent force."

The departure sparked a bitter legal battle over the band's name and legacy, with Waters losing in court but retaining rights to The Wall for solo performances. A brief thaw occurred in 2005 when the full lineup reunited for the Live 8 charity concert in London's Hyde Park, performing four songs to a global audience of millions. However, Gilmour later described the event as "a bit of a pain," signaling no lasting reconciliation.

Tensions reignited in the 2020s amid diverging political views. Waters, a vocal critic of Israel and supporter of Palestinian causes, has faced repeated accusations of antisemitism, including from the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and a 2023 documentary titled The Dark Side of Roger Waters.

In February 2023, Gilmour's wife, lyricist Polly Samson, unleashed a blistering X post labeling Waters "antisemitic to your rotten core" and a "Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy megalomaniac."

The outburst followed Waters sharing an article on Israel and making comments perceived as pro-Russia amid the Ukraine invasion. Gilmour amplified the tweet, stating "every word [is] demonstrably true." Waters dismissed the claims as "wildly inaccurate" and "incendiary," insisting in a Piers Morgan interview that he is "not anti-Semitic even faintly."

Samson, in the Telegraph interview, revealed the personal toll: "If they knew you’re married to someone from Pink Floyd, half the time people were giving me quite strange looks... I just wanted to draw a line." Gilmour echoed this, calling Waters' views "wearisome" and preferring to "steer clear of people who actively support genocidal and autocratic dictators like Putin and Maduro."

The feud has bled into their legacies, with Gilmour expressing frustration over constant questions: "Do you know what decade of my life I was in when Roger left our pop group? My thirties. I am now 78. Where’s the relevance?" Adding fuel in July 2025, Waters posted a video endorsing Palestine Action, a group proscribed as a terrorist organization under the UK's Terrorism Act 2000 just days prior.

In the clip, Waters held a handmade sign reading "Roger Waters supports Palestine Action 5th July 2025," declaring: "Parliament has been corrupted by a genocidal foreign power. Stand up and be counted, it's now." He proclaimed July 5 as "Independence Day 2025," invoking "I am Spartacus" while rejecting the ban as suppression.

The post, made hours after the ban, prompted reports to counter-terrorism police by UK Lawyers for Israel and threats of private prosecution from CAA, potentially facing up to 14 years in prison for supporting a proscribed group. Waters described the group as "non-violent" and "absolutely not terrorist," despite prior incidents involving vandalism and assaults.

The schism extends to business: In 2024, Pink Floyd sold their recorded music and name rights to Sony for over $500 million, a move Gilmour framed not as financial but as escaping "the mud bath" of ongoing disputes.

Fans on X lamented the finality, with one posting: "This is so SAD.... I had hopes for a reunion between these two!!" Others quipped, "The only thing stronger than their music is their feud!"

As Gilmour promotes his new album Luck and Strange (released September 2024) and photography book A Little Bit of Yellow, the era of Pink Floyd harmony feels as distant as their cosmic lyrics.