Roger Waters rejects ‘powerful idiot’ Mark Zuckerberg’s bid to use Pink Floyd song in Instagram ad

Singer Roger Waters speaking during a protest against the extradition of Julian Assange, in London, United Kingdom, in February 2020 (Image: Reuters/Peter Nicholls)

Songwriter and composer Roger Waters, who co-founded Pink Floyd, said he turned down Facebook’s request to use one of the rock band’s famous songs for an Instagram advertisement.

Waters, 77, told reporters at a recent pro-Julian Assange event that billionaire Mark Zuckerberg’s company had wanted to use the 1979 classic “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” in an ad.

“It (the request) arrived this morning, with an offer for a huge, huge amount of money,” Waters said at the event. “And the answer is, 'F--k you. No f--in' way.'”

“I only mention that because this is an insidious movement of them to take over absolutely everything. I will not be a party to this bull----, [Mark] Zuckerberg," Waters said.

Waters read from a letter that he said came from Facebook.

“We want to thank you for considering this project. We feel that the core sentiment of this song is still so prevalent and so necessary today, which speaks to how timeless the work is,” he read it out.

Rogers said that the social network platform had missed the point of the song.

“And yet, they want to use it to make Facebook and Instagram more powerful than it already is,” he replied, “so that it can continue to censor all of us in this room and prevent this story about Julian Assange getting out into the general public so the general public can go, ‘What? No. No More.'”

“¡Vete a la chingada!”: @rogerwaters a Mark Zuckerberg. El músico contó que le ofrecieron “una gran cantidad de dinero” por permitir el uso de Another brick in the wall II para promover Instagram. Lo narró en un acto por la libertad de Julian Assange (@Wikileaks)#VideosLaJornadapic.twitter.com/gEVqaor8Eo

— La Jornada (@lajornadaonline) June 12, 2021

Waters also brought up ‘FaceMash’, the website Zuckerberg had created at Harvard in 2003 to rate the looks of women on the campus.

“How did this little prick who started out as ‘She’s pretty, we’ll give her a four out of five, she’s ugly, we’ll give her a four out of five,’ how did we give him any power?” Waters asked, calling Zuckerberg “one of the most powerful idiots in the world.”

Facebook and Zuckerberg have not yet formally commented on the offer and on Waters’ response.

Written by Waters, Another Brick in the Wall is a three-part composition part of Pink Floyd's 1979 album The Wall. “Part 2” is a song protesting abusive schooling and was released as a single. The song sold over four million copies globally and was nominated for a Grammy Award.