Kneecap have issued an additional statement amid controversy over comments they allegedly made during shows years earlier.
Earlier this month, the West Belfast hip-hop trio made headlines due to impassioned comments they made in support of Palestine during their set at Coachella.
This included projecting messages like “fuck Israel, free Palestine” onto the screens behind them, and leading fans in a chant of “free Palestine”.
Days after this, it was reported that counter-terrorism police officers were assessing a video in which they reportedly declared “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” during a gig in London in November 2024.
VALERIE MACON via AFP via Getty Images
Both of these groups have been declared terrorist organisations in the UK, meaning it is illegal to voice support for them.
Kneecap claimed over the weekend in an Instagram post that they have become the subject of a “coordinated smear campaign” due to their vocal support for Palestine.
On Monday, a second clip, this time from 2023, resurfaced, during which they allegedly declared that the “only good Tory is a dead Tory”, adding: “Kill your local MP.”
This video was also reported to be in the hands of the counter-terrorism police, with a spokesperson for prime minister Keir Starmer condemning the group over these comments.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Kneecap shared an additional statement on Instagram, which read: “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 hysteria.
“Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history. We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever.”
“An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action. This distortion is not only absurd – it is a transparent effort to derail the real conversation,” they insisted.
Kneecap continued: “All two million Palestinian people in Gaza are currently being starved to death by Israel. At least 20,000 children in Gaza have been killed.
“The British government continues to supply arms to Israel, even after scores of NHS doctors warned Keir Starmer in August that children were being systematically executed with sniper shots to the head. Instead of defending innocent people or the principles of international law, the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine. This is where real anger and outrage should be directed towards.”
Responding to comments from the families of David Amess and Jo Cox – two MPs who were both murdered in separate incidents – Kneecap said: “To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt.
“Kneecap’s message has always been – and remains – one of love, inclusion and hope. This is why our music resonates across generations, countries, classes and cultures, and has brought hundreds of thousands of people to our gigs. No smear campaign will change that.
“Suddenly, days after calling out the US administration at Coachella to applause and solidarity, there is an avalanche of outrage and condemnation by the political classes of Britain. The real crimes are not in our performances; the real crimes are the silence and complicity of those in power. Shame on them.”
In the past few days, several political figures – including Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch – have called on Glastonbury organisers to drop Kneecap from this year’s line-up.
HuffPost UK contacted Glastonbury on Monday but did not receive a response.
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