Roger Waters Says He’s ‘Far, Far, Far More Important’ Than the Weeknd and Drake
Roger Waters threw shade at both the Weeknd and Drake after the former Pink Floyd rocker found himself overshadowed in the Toronto press by the two hometown artists.
Waters’ This Is Not a Drill Tour rolled into Toronto on July 8, the same day the Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn trek was set to kick off in the city. While the Weeknd’s gig at the Rogers Centre was ultimately postponed due to Canada-wide power issue, Waters’ show at Scotiabank Arena somehow still proceeded as scheduled.
However, in an interview with Toronto newspaper the Globe and Mail, the always-truculent Waters expressed anger that the Canadian press — and specifically the reporter he was interviewing with — opted to cover the Weeknd kicking off his tour in his hometown stadium rather than Waters’ show, which was the first of a two-night stand at the Toronto arena.
“I have no idea what or who the Weeknd is, because I don’t listen to much music,” Waters said. “People have told me he’s a big act. Well, good luck to him. I’ve got nothing against him. Would it not have been possible to review his show one night and my show another night?”
He added, “I’m not trying to make a personal attack. I’m just saying it seemed odd.”
Then, for reasons unknown other than he was in Toronto, Waters also took aim at the city’s native superstar Drake.
“By the way, with all due respect to the Weeknd or Drake or any of them, I am far, far, far more important than any of them will ever be, however many billions of streams they’ve got,” Waters said. “There is stuff going on here that is fundamentally important to all of our lives.”
It is unclear by which metric Waters measures importance. Thankfully for Waters, other than a close call next week in Chicago, the This Is Not a Drill Tour won’t cross paths with the spectacular After Hours Til Dawn tour for the remainder of the two treks.
