the UK government is more outraged by an Irish band speaking up about genocide than the genocide itself.
Kneecap’s Coachella message embarrassed Washington so Westminster dutifully scrambles to condemn them while Israel continues to starve Gaza.
‘They tried to silence us over £14K—but not Israel over billions in arms.’
Good day, spectators,
And the above quote, from the Irish-language trio based in the North of Ireland, seems to be a running theme since they began to gain popularity. With such catchy songs as ‘Get your Brits out!’, it was only a matter of time before the loving gaze of the former empire turned to them.
This time, the Belfast rap trio, who’ve spent the past few years mocking British authority, have now achieved something remarkable: they’ve managed to provoke more fury from Westminster politicians by waving a Palestinian flag at Coachella than Israel has by reducing Gaza to a mass grave.
Let’s be clear about what happened. Kneecap took the stage in California last week, draped in keffiyehs, their set featuring a large banner saying ‘Free Palestine and fuck Israel’ in bold letters. They called for a cultural boycott of Israel, dedicated songs to the children of Gaza, and generally made the kind of statement that—in any normal part of the world—would be uncontroversial. Instead, US officials called for them to be banned for life and for their work visas to be revoked.
Days later, back in Britain, Labour leader Keir Starmer and Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney (amongst others) suddenly woke up and realised something is wrong.
But instead of condemning genocide, they decided it was much more important to denounce Kneecap as ‘divisive’ and ‘irresponsible.’ Some even calling for all their planned sets in the UK to be cancelled.
why now?
The timing is instructive to say the least. These same politicians have spent months mumbling flaccid platitudes about ‘humanitarian pauses’ while Israel starves 2.3 million people under blockade. They’ve shrugged as British-made bombs flatten entire bloodlines and whilst Israel massacres aid workers, journalists and civilians every…single…day. Even as I write this article, there are videos coming in from yet another massacre on civilians.
Watch: the aftermath of another Israeli massacre on Gaza from the 28th of April, 2025.
…yet a single Irish-language rap group, performing on a stage in a desert thousands of miles away, somehow warrants immediate condemnation?
It would be laughable if it weren’t so…scary? Grotesque? Sickening? All of the above?
This isn’t really about Kneecap, of course. It’s about who they are and what they represent. They are switched-on ‘Paddies’ with an opinion and a platform, they are nominated for Oscars and win BAFTAS, they sell out every show they plan across the globe…and Britain hates this:
They unapologetically reject the hypocrisy that allows Britain to posture itself as a defender of international law while arming a regime the International Court of Justice has accused of genocide. Kneecap’s real crime isn’t their politics but their refusal to play along with the fiction that art and politics can be separated, that artists should know their place.
They’ve spent their career spitting in the face of that notion, whether by winning a legal battle against the UK government’s attempt to strip their arts funding over ‘anti-British’ lyrics or by turning Coachella’s corporate stage into a platform for Palestinian resistance.
And in my opinion, that’s why the reaction has been so telling. When Israel casually bombs a refugee camp, Westminster’s response is measured, terrified even, buried under layers of bureaucratic euphemism. But when a band from West Belfast dares to say ‘not in our name’, suddenly the machinery of outrage grinds into motion. Starmer, who has spent years purging Labour of anyone with the gall to criticise Israel, now finds the energy to publicly scold musicians. Swinney, whose government continues to host Israeli trade delegations, suddenly remembers the importance of ‘social cohesion.’
The message is clear: dissent is fine, so long as it doesn’t actually threaten anything. You can mourn Gaza’s dead in abstract terms, but don’t you dare name the killers or those who arm them. You can perform at Coachella, but don’t embarrass the empire on its way out.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, the dead go uncounted, the living eat grass, and the world’s most powerful nations continue to look the other way. Unless, of course, someone waves the wrong flag onstage or at a university.
Then, suddenly, they’re paying attention.
What do you think, folks? Comment below, I love the discussion,
(And as always, thanks for reading, make sure to subscribe and do please give this post a ❤️ and restack below too.)
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Read more from the spectacle:
Thanks Deaglan, I hope Kneecap continue to hold truth to power.
It’s long overdue for bands / groups to be the voice of the people.
Thanks for this deaglan, I did not know much about kneecap until this week and this article has opened my eyes a little bit. Seems they will always be persecuted by the Brits, they are terrified of them.