Sharon Osbourne has called for a “revocation of Kneecap’s work visa” after she claims their performance at Coachella 2025 “compromised” the festival’s “moral and spiritual integrity”.
It comes after the organisers of the festival reportedly said they were “blindsided” by the band’s pro-Palestinian messages and chants at the festival.
The Irish rap trio made headlines with their performances on the Sonora Stage at both weekends of the California festival.
First time around, the live stream of their set was cut after they voiced their support for a free Palestine, and also led the crowd in a provocative anti-Margaret Thatcher chant. “Not only was that cut,” they later said, referring to the Thatcher refrain, “our messaging on the US-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either.”
At the second weekend, the band provided their own livestream, with political commentator Hasan Piker broadcasting their set live on Twitch. Slogans including “Fuck Israel, Free Palestine”, “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people” and “it is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes” were projected on the screen behind them as they played.
During their second set, Mo Chara delivered a brief speech, telling the crowd: “The Irish not so long ago were persecuted at the hands of the Brits, but we were never bombed from the fucking skies with nowhere to go.
“The Palestinians have nowhere to go, it’s their fucking home and they’re bombing them from the skies,” he added. “If you’re not calling it a genocide what the fuck are you calling it?” The band then led a “Free, Free Palestine” chant.
Now, Sharon Osbourne, who has Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, has criticised the band saying the performance “compromised” the festival’s “moral and spiritual integrity”.
In a lengthy post on X, Osbourne said: “Coachella 2025 will be remembered as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity. Goldenvoice, the festival organiser, facilitated this by allowing artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression. At a time when the world is experiencing significant unrest, music should serve as an escape, not a stage for political discourse.”
She continued: “While festivals like Coachella showcase remarkable talent from around the globe, music’s primary purpose is to unite people. It should not be a venue for promoting terrorist organisations or spreading hate.”
Coachella 2025 will be remembered as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity. Goldenvoice, the festival organizer, facilitated this by allowing artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression. At a time when the world is… pic.twitter.com/moqSVyC2hs
— Sharon Osbourne (@MrsSOsbourne) April 22, 2025
After this, Osbourne went on to criticise Kneecap, saying the band “took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements.” She added: “Their actions included projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech, and this band openly support terrorist organisations.
“This behaviour raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and further shows they are booked to play in the USA. Reports indicate that Goldenvoice was unaware of Kneecap’s political intentions when they were booked. However, after witnessing their performance during the first weekend, allowing them to perform again the following weekend suggests support of their rhetoric and a lack of due diligence.”
Osbourne also went on to call out Green Day, who altered a song lyric to reference Palestine during their set. “Green Day, a band I personally admire, chose to share their views on the Middle East during their Coachella performance. While I respect their right to express their opinions, such discussions would have been more appropriate at their own concert, not at a festival.”
Disturbed’s David Draiman also recently commented on Green Day‘s Palestine lyric change during their recent headline show at Coachella, telling the band: “I’d love to have the opportunity for you to hear the Israeli/Jewish side of this horrific war. I’m available to discuss whenever you are. No judgement, nothing preconceived. Let me know.”
Osbourne then went on to criticise Scooter Braun and his defending of the festival organiser’s CEO, Paul Tollett.
She continued: “Scooter Braun, who has been involved in organising the Nova Music Festival exhibit—a tribute to the victims of the October 7th attacks in Israel—has defended Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett as he attended the Nova Exhibit. If Tollett visited the Nova exhibit, he would have seen the portraits of every person that was killed that day and heard some of their voices on cell phone recordings, sent home to their loved ones.
“It is difficult to comprehend how if somebody saw this exhibit firsthand that they could book a band on their festival that is in support of what was done that day and supports the group responsible for this mass murder. Not one IDF solider was killed that day, just 1400 innocent civilians.
“Furthermore, the Independent Artists Group, which represents Kneecap, includes individuals of Jewish heritage. It is disheartening that they have not used their positions to prevent the promotion of such controversial messages. Shame on them. As someone with both Irish Catholic on my Mothers side and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage on my Father’s side, and extensive experience in the music industry, I understand the complexities involved. Goldenvoice’s claim of being ‘blindsided’ by Kneecap’s performance seems implausible given the circumstances. I know for a fact that certain people in the industry had written to Goldenvoice, airing their concerns around the booking of Kneecap.”
Osbourne concluded: “I urge you to join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa.”
NME has reached out to representatives of Kneecap, Green Day and Coachella for comment.
Kneecap’s long-standing support of Palestine has included recent social media posts and high-profile TV appearances. In their Cover feature for NME last year, they made their stance against what they call Israel’s “occupation and genocide” of Gaza clear, and went on to help raise nearly £100,000 for a volunteer gym in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine.
More recently, they hit out at Israel for breaking the Gaza ceasefire in a “slaughter” against the “most vulnerable people on earth”. It followed the ‘Better Way To Live’ artists slamming the Prime Minister of Ireland, calling Micheál Martin a “lick-arse” and “scumbag” after his recent visit to the White House to meet US President Donald Trump.
Back in January, when their film was left out of the Oscar nominations in January despite having been longlisted, the band responded by tweeting: “Fuck the Oscars. Free Palestine.”
Their response was in line with their reaction to the news of a ceasefire in Gaza on January 16, where they posted “we must not forget what Israel has done”.
They also posted recently in response to articles written about their “aggressive” Coachella set saying “honesty isn’t aggressive, fucking bombs are.”
Honesty isn’t aggressive – fucking bombs are https://t.co/6aelj6IKrC
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 21, 2025
Meanwhile, Osbourne has spoken out multiple times previously about anti-semitism and has criticised both Jeremy Corbyn and Kanye West in the past.
