Kneecap address controversy during explosive headline set: “We are being made an example of”
At Kneecap’s headline slot at Wide Awake Festival, London, the band addressed the controversy surrounding their pro-Palestinian politics.
The band’s Liam O hAnnaidh, stage name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence on May 21st for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert last year. Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist organisation by the UK authorities.
The audience was shown videos of the band being condemned. The message “free Palestine” then appeared on the screen as the Irish trio took to the stage. The rap group began the 90-minute set with a statement reaffirming their stance while lashing out at news outlets that cover their story to stay relevant. They mentioned right-wing celebrity Piers Morgan in particular.
“Thank you very much. They tried to stop this gig,” the band revealed. “Honestly lads you have no idea how close we were to being pulled off this gig.” Several gigs in the UK and Germany have been cancelled; in one case, their show in Plymouth was cancelled due to “advice from relevant authorities and agencies,” after which the trio announced three more Plymouth shows.
During the set, Mo Chara told the crowd at Brockwell Park: “I went for an interview with the counter-terror police and within days they came to a verdict that they were going to charge me, never has it been that quick. And the reason it was that quick was because Glastonbury is just around the corner, they’re trying to silence us.”
He continued: “We are being made an example of, the Israeli lobbyists are trying to prove to other artists ‘that if you speak out, we’re going to hit you where it hurts most. They’re trying to cancel gigs, they trying to cancel my freedom of travel.” This comes after Sharon Osbourne called for their US visas to be revoked following a Coachella set that included “free Palestine” chants.
“And the fact that I’m speaking to this amount of people, and I assume the majority of you will agree, shows that we’re on the right side of history,” Chara declared to the large audience. Later, he would lead them into a “free Palestine” chant that would echo around the park. “Let’s remember how lucky we are to be in a field with our friends and not being bombed from the sky,” he also stated.
Chara is set to appear in the Magistrates’ Court in London on June 18th. One of the band members encouraged fans to attend the hearing: “If anybody’s about on June 18th…we’re all going to gather outside the Westminster court to show support.”
Chara approached his court date with a mocking tone, asking the crowd cheekily, “Do any of you know any good lawyers?” He then urged the crowd to turn up at the court date with a “big bag of ket.”
Kneecap also played a surprise set on May 22nd at London’s The 100 Club, which was attended by police officers. Their message was largely the same at that smaller show, too: “We stand proudly with the people. You stand complicit with the war criminals. We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in your court. We will win. Free Palestine.”
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