Kneecap “taking action” against “coordinated smear campaign” amid Coachella controversy
Irish trio Kneecap have released a new statement in response to the international backlash to their recent Coachella set, in which they expressed pro-Palestinian sentiments.
This comes after the trio shared a series of pro-Palestinian messages during their recent Coachella performance. The Californian festival previously censored their first set and cut short the live broadcast. The first of the posted backdrops reads: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.” The second reads: “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.” The third read, “Fuck Israel / Free Palestine.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Sharon Osbourne both raised public outcry against the hip-hop outfit. In the wake of their Coachella set, Osbourne urged her fans on X to “join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa”. Additionally, counter-terrorism police are also assessing footage from a November 2024 London show in which Mo Chara can be seemingly heard shouting, “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”
In the new post on X, the musicians shared a clip of their manager, Daniel Lambert, discussing the recent controversy. Above the video, they issued a lengthy new statement, which begins, “Since our statements at Coachella — exposing the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people — we have faced a coordinated smear campaign.”
The message continues: “For over a year, we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish governments’ complicity in war crimes. The recent attacks against us, largely emanating from the US, are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods. We are taking action against several of these malicious efforts.”
“Let us be absolutely clear. The reason Kneecap is being targeted is simple — we are telling the truth, and our audience is growing. Those attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter. They weaponize false accusations of antisemitism to distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide,” the trio added.
Kneecap’s statement continued: “We do not give a f*ck what religion anyone practices. We know there are massive numbers of Jewish people outraged by this genocide just as we are. What we care about is that governments of the countries we perform in are enabling some of the most horrific crimes of our lifetimes — and we will not stay silent.”
The musicians finish with a reaffirmation of their determination for change: “No media spin will change this. Our only concern is the Palestinian people — the 20,000 murdered children and counting. The young people at our gigs see through the lies. They stand on the side of humanity and justice. And that gives us great hope.”
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