Photo credit: Boston Lynn Schulz

According to Stereogum, during singer-songwriter Regina Spektor’s Saturday night performance at Portland’s Revolution Hall — as part of her Midsummer Daydream Tour — she was met with interruptions. Audience members voiced pro-Palestinian sentiments which occurred roughly ten songs into the set, just before Spektor launched into her track “Poor Little Rich Boy.”

Several attendees began shouting “Free Palestine!” during a quiet moment in the concert, with at least one individual reportedly approaching the stage before being escorted out by venue security. The interruption brought the performance to a pause, prompting a direct response from Spektor.

“You’re just yelling at a Jew. I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing. I really appreciate the security. We had a really hard time last night, when I said, ‘Shalom aleichem,’” she told the crowd, referencing a greeting in Hebrew. The audience largely showed support for the artist, with some responding by chanting “Am Yisrael Chai,” which translates to “The people of Israel live.”

Spektor, who emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States as a child and is Jewish, has been outspoken in support of Israel and has publicly criticized artists and activists who oppose its military actions in Gaza. Her stance has led to both support and backlash, including appearances on social media pages tracking pro-Israel voices in the music industry.

During the tense exchange, Spektor looked out into the crowd and asked, “Where are you?” referring to the original protester, who had already left. “I thought this was different than the internet. This is real life.”

When another audience member pushed back, saying, “I’m watching dying children. That hurts,” Spektor replied, “I think you should go because this is not the place for that conversation. I’m a real person who came here to play music. If anybody wants to walk out, this is your chance. Does anybody else want to take a walk? You can.” Several attendees did leave at that moment.

Spektor added, “The only reason I even speak English is because I came here to escape this shit. I only speak English because I came from a country where people were treating Jews as others, and now I’m being othered here, and it sucks. It’ll be nice if one of my family’s generation didn’t have to go to a new country and learn a new language, just stay put, have nice lives, you guys.”