Imagine Dragons recently played a controversial gig in Azerbaijan, despite protests from System of a Down’s Serj Tankian. Now, Tankian has commented on the band’s decision to move forward with the performance.

According to NME, the gig was planned to occur in Azerbaijan’s capital city, Baku. This drew some criticism, since a performance in the capital was perceived by some to be supporting President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s authoritarian leader.

Tankian, who is of Armenian descent, has been very vocal in raising awareness for ongoing transgressions against Armenia, even calling out multiple artists who have performed in Azerbaijan as these issues were ongoing. Last year, Tankian sent a personal letter to Imagine Dragons, in which he urged the band to cancel the gig. He apparently wrote in the letter that proceeding with the performance “would help whitewash the dictatorial regime’s image.” Tankian also added that going through with the concert would “have a negative impact on your brand as well.” He closed the letter by stating, “I’m confident that you can decipher all the facts for yourselves to decide whether to cancel your concert.” (via NME)

Despite the letter, along with several other public attempts at urging the band to cancel their performance from Tankian and others, Imagine Dragons went forward with the gig.

According toNME, Tankian shared his disappointment in a recent interview. He stated, “Look, I’m not a judge for people to tell bands where to play, or where not to play… I get that they’re doing it for money, that they’re artists, that they’re entertaining, all of that. But when there’s a government that’s about to commit ethnic cleansing, when Azerbaijan was starving the 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and not allowing any food or medicine in… you know, as an artist, if I found that out, there is no fucking way I could have gone and played that show. But some artists do. And I don’t know what to say about those artists. I don’t respect them as human beings. Fuck their art, they’re not good human beings, as far as I’m concerned.”

Tankian then added, “If you are that blind to justice that you will go play a show in a country that’s starving another country, illegally, according to the International Court of Justice, according to what Amnesty International is saying, what Human Rights Watch is saying… If you still go and play that country, I don’t know what to say about you as a fucking human being. I don’t even care about your music. If you’re a bad human being, I don’t give a fuck. So that’s where I’m at with that. I have zero respect for those guys.” (via NME)

Imagine Dragons have not yet responded to Tankian’s comments or the controversy surrounding their performance.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat