Music mogul Louis Walsh has said Bono and U2 were too slow to speak up about the “genocide” in Gaza.
He made the comments in an upcoming appearance on The Big Interview on Virgin Media.
U2 had faced criticism for largely avoiding speaking publicly about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza but released a statement in August of last year condemning the actions of the Israeli government in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks.
In his own statement, Bono said he had been “circling the subject” until then. He condemned the Israeli government, as well as the October 7 attacks, and added he believed in Israel’s “right to exist”.
Walsh agreed that U2 were “too slow” to speak out about the actions of Israel in Gaza, adding that he was “surprised at Bono”.
“He’s rubbing shoulders with every politician in the world. That’s the least he could have done, absolutely.
“It was late. It was too late. He should have been one of the first, you know, absolutely. It’s genocide and we’re all watching it as if nothing has happened.
“I’m roaring at the TV every night, because I watch Al-Jazeera and I watch France24 and I watch CNN - as well as Virgin - so I get all the news, I’m a bit of a news junkie.”
During the interview, Walsh also reflected on his time managing Boyzone, revealing that Ronan Keating had hoped to emulate British pop singer George Micheal.
“Ronan wanted to be George Michael. He was chasing around George Michael in London. What he didn’t know was that George Michael fancied Stephen Gately and George was only being friendly because he wanted to get to know Stephen.”
The Big Interview: Louis Walsh airs on Tuesday 27 October at 9pm on Virgin Media PLAY and Virgin Media One.