Irish hip-hop band Kneecap have claimed that the pro-Palestine message they shared onstage during Coachella was cut from the festival’s livestream.
After the group made their Coachella debut on Friday, NME reported that the trio’s livestream was cut short when the band led an anti-Margaret Thatcher chant. The band re-tweeted the article and added that their support for the Palestinian people was also missing.
“Not the only thing that was cut – our messaging on the US-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either,” the band wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Back next Friday Coachella and it’ll be sorted. Grma to everyone who packed out the tent.”
The band later posted a video clip of their closing number “H.O.O.D.” and the moment they shouted “Free Palestine and free the six counties.” The latter is a slogan calling for the reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.
As NME shared, earlier in the set, group member Mo Chara told the audience, “Here, if anybody was wondering, Margaret Thatcher’s still dead” before leading the crowd in a chant of “Maggie’s in a box.” Kneecap have been long-standing critics of Thatcher, the former Conservative prime minister of Britain. The band have also been vocal supporters of Palestine, speaking about the conflict regularly in the press.
At the BAFTA Awards earlier this year, Rich Peppiatt, who directed the band’s quasi-biopic film Kneecap, dedicated his award for Outstanding British Debut to those who are fighting to “have their homeland respected.” The filmmaker said, “Everyone should have their language respected, their culture respected. This award is dedicated to everyone out there who’s fighting that fight.”
Several other artists performing at the festival referenced Palestine, but did not have their livestreams cut short. On Saturday, Green Day changed the lyrics of their song “Jesus Of Suburbia” from “running away from pain when you’ve been victimized” to “running away from pain, like the kids from Palestine.”
Kneecap will perform again at Coachella on Friday night after stops in Denver and Salt Lake City. The band will return to North America in October with 15 shows in Louisville, Nashville, New York, Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Vancouver, Portland, San Fransisco, and more.
From Rolling Stone US
