“I don’t believe in depriving our fans who want to see us play because of the acts of their leaders and their governments”

Dan Reynolds – the frontman of Imagine Dragons – has responded to the criticism the band have received for playing Israel and Azerbaijan.

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Last month, System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian criticised the band for going ahead with their controversial gigs and shared that he has “zero respect for those guys”. The dispute came over a show that the Las Vegas band had plans for in the country’s capital city, Baku, which some perceived as being an endorsement of Azerbeijan’s authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev.

Tankian had sent the group a letter last summer urging them to pull out of the Baku Olympic Stadium show. In the letter, he stated that proceeding with the gig “would help whitewash the dictatorial regime’s image” (via Louder).

Further pressure to back out also came from fellow musicians including Brian Eno, Thurston Moore and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, who shared an open letter last August, asking them to pull the show. “Performing in Baku under these circumstances, regardless of intent, can only help the government of Azerbaijan cover up its crimes,” a section of it read.