Since their Coachella performance that contained pro-Palestine messages, Kneecap say they're facing a "coordinated smear campaign." They've been under scrutiny by the public, including the UK government. The Northern Irish rap trio issued a statement after the Irish prime minister suggested they “urgently clarify” their views, and now many are coming to the group's defense.
On Instagram, Massive Attack wrote:
If senior politicians can find neither the time, nor the words to condemn, say, the murder of fifteen voluntary aid workers in Gaza, or the illegal starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare, or the killing of thousands & thousands of children in the same territory, by a state in possession of the highest precision weapons on earth; how much notice should a music festival take of their moral advice on booking performing acts? As a band that has spoken publicly for more than 30 years about the illegal occupation, apartheid system and killing with impunity of thousands of Palestinians, we are hyper aware of the both the human cost of abject political silence, and the commercial implications of publicly expressing solidarity with an oppressed people.
Language matters of course. The hideous murders of elected politicians Jo Cox and David Amess means there's no scope for flippancy or recklessness.
But do politicians and right-wing journalists strategically concocting moral outrage over the stage utterings of a young punk band, while simultaneously obfuscating or even ignoring a genocide happening in real time (including the killing of journalists in unprecedented numbers) have any right to intimidate festival events into acts of political censorship?
Kneecap are not the story.
Gaza is the story. Genocide is the story.
And the silence, acquiescence and support of those crimes against humanity by the elected British government is the real story.
Solidarity with all artists with the moral courage to speak out against Israeli war crimes, and the ongoing persecution and slaughter of the Palestinian people.
Massive Attack.
Heavenly Recordings, the indie label based in London, also posted a statement of solidarity that was signed by Pulp, Primal Scream, Fontaines D.C., Thin Lizzy, the Pogues, Sleaford Mods, English Teacher, Enter Shikari, and more. It reads:
This past week has seen a clear, concerted attempt to censor and ultimately deplatform the band Kneecap.
In Westminster and the British media, senior political figures have been openly engaged in a campaign to remove Kneecap from the public eye, with veiled threats being made over their scheduled performances at gigs, outdoor events and music festivals, including Glastonbury.
Chillingly, it is also clear to us that influential figures and personalities within the wider music industry are attempting to influence this campaign of intimidation.
As artists, we feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom.
In a democracy, no political figures or political parties should have the right to dictate who does and does not play at music festivals or gigs that will be enjoyed by thousands of people.
The question of agreeing with Kneecap's political views is irrelevant: it is in the key interests of every artist that all creative expression be protected in a society that values culture, and that this interference campaign is condemned and ridiculed.
Furthermore, it is also the duty of key leadership figures in the music industry to actively defend artistic freedom of expression — rather than seek to silence views which oppose their own.
The Coachella set resulted in old footage resurfacing of the band appearing to promote Hamas and Hezbollah at a show — which is illegal in the UK — and seemingly saying, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” A Metropolitan police spokesman recently said the counter-terrorism internet referral unit will determine whether any further police investigation may be required. In their statement, Kneecap denied supporting Hamas or Hezbollah, and apologized to the families of murdered MPs.
Per Billboard, the controversy led to Kneecap's weekly streams in the US almost doubling, going from a total of 431,000 streams to 852,000.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DJE6zi5MoD7/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
https://www.instagram.com/p/DJFFQw2NXPL/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
UPDATE: More than 100 additional artists have now signed:
More and more every hour stand behind Kneecap 💚🤍🧡❤️🖤 pic.twitter.com/armFYCfpCl
— Daniel Lambert (@dlLambo) May 1, 2025
