Kneecap have shared the messages of support they’ve received following the controversy surrounding their Coachella performances.
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The trio made headlines on Coachella’s weekend one, after the live stream of their set was cut when 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.
Following the performance, Coachella organisers reportedly said they were “blindsided” by the band’s pro-Palestinian messages and chants at the festival.
Shortly after that, Sharon Osbourne called for a “revocation” of their work visa, claiming their performance “compromised” the festival’s “moral and spiritual integrity”.
Now, amid the controversy, Kneecap have shared some of the messages of support they’ve received since their set. Posting a selection of DMs and emails on Twitter/X, the band wrote: “Amongst the hundreds of violent Zionist threats there’s thousands of these”.
Among them is one from a retired British Royal Navy officer, which reads: “I love your music. Free Palestine. Fuck the haters”, while another says: “As a Palestinian in exile I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving us a voice on the world stage.”
Elsewhere, they re-shared a post from an X user that says: “What happened at Coachella is Israel’s worst nightmare. They’re learning that no matter how many politicians they own? And how much corporate media they control? They can’t wipe out the truth any more. Those days are over.”
Amongst the hundreds of violent Zionist threats there’s thousands of these ❤️🇵🇸❤️ pic.twitter.com/a7KfgZzfNW
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 22, 2025
This 👇 https://t.co/BC6tabw6tp
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 23, 2025
Over on their Instagram story they’ve also shared similar messages of support, including an infographic from content creator Danny Price which criticises Osbourne’s post.
“If people are losing their shit about Kneecap displaying ‘Fuck Israel’ on an LCD screen, they’re gonna be absolutely livid when they see the videos of IOF soldiers snipering Palestinian children on everyone’s phone screen,” the post reads. “I wish the people screaming about Kneecap’s protest showed even a fraction of that outrage for the tens of thousands of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces.”
Price continued: “But, just for the record, lectures on stage etiquette from Sharon fucking Osbourne – when her husband is literally famous for biting off a bat’s head live on stage in 1982 – is fucking wild.”
Another post from Parody news outlet The Hard Time News shared by the band further pokes fun at Osbourne. “Sharon Osbourne shocked to learn meaning of ‘War Pigs’ after reading lyrics for the first time,” the fake headline reads, alongside the caption: “‘Frankly, I was quite disgusted to see that my own husband was anti-war. It seems he also supports terrorist organizations and witchcraft. I have to advocate for the US government to take Ozzy’s work visa away and send him back to wherever he came from along with Kneecap,’ said Osbourne while out to brunch at a high-end LA bistro.”
The post is in reference to the 1970 Black Sabbath song, considered an anti-war classic.
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.”
Last year, the band shared their ’10 rules to live by’, which included: “Be outspoken, leave your mark and stand up for your people. Stand up for Palestine, and stand up for oppressed people around the world.”
In keeping with this rule, in November, Bap raised over £30,000 for Gaza food parcels by running 10k a day on tour, the trio made headlines for refusing to take off their Palestine badges in an appearance on Ireland’s Late Late Show, and arranged a Gig for Gaza charity show alongside Primal Scream and Paul Weller.
Also in 2024, the band joined Massive Attack, Nova Twins and more in condemning the far-right riots across the UK following the Southport mass stabbings, and used their massive set at Reading Festival 2024 to denounce anti-immigration riots and “that far-right shite”.
