Kneecap have apologised to the families of two former British MPs who were murdered in recent years and said they do not support Hamas or Hezbollah.
This comes after videos from past gigs came to the attention of police and politicians.
The Belfast rap group released a statement after a video appeared to show a member shouting, “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah”, while another appeared to show a member saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP”.
Kneecap took the opportunity to also criticise what they describe as a “smear campaign” against them over their support for Palestine.
KNEECAP STATEMENT:
They want you to believe words are more harmful than genocide.
Establishment figures, desperate to silence us, have combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews, extracting a handful of words from months or years ago to manufacture moral… pic.twitter.com/qZht5532Zf
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 28, 2025
They wrote, “Establishment figures, desperate to silence us, have combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews, extracting a handful of words from months or years ago to manufacture moral hysteria”.
The band has found themselves in the spotlight recently after a controversial Coachella performance saw Sharon Osbourne call for their US work visas to be revoked.
Head tour guide at the Irish Rock ‘N’ Roll Museum Experience Alan Buckley told Lunchtime Live that while he “tends to agree” with Kneecap, he thinks they were right to apologise in this instance.
“If you’re booking Kneecap you’re going to get Kneecap,” he said.
“But I do think that they’ve come out at the right time to clarify some things and apologise.
“I think that in the white heat of a live show – and particularly a high octane show like a Kneecap show – things are going to get said in the heat of the moment that maybe, in the cold light of day or taken out of context, will seem incredibly inflammatory.”
Some texters and callers said that artists should leave politics out of their performances.
However, Mr Buckley said that “music is, by its very nature, going to talk about difficult things”.
“The late, great Sinéad O’Connor said it is the role of the artist to start difficult conversations,” he said.
“Some of those conversations people won’t want to hear – that's why they’re difficult.”
Mr Buckley said whether or not this harms the band’s careers in the long-term, “they’re always going to be themselves”.
Main image: Kneecap
