Kneecap have opened up on their thoughts about their controversial actions ahead of their upcoming Glastonbury set this weekend
Irish rap trio Kneecap have hit out at the reaction to bandmember Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig last year.
The musician appeared in court earlier this month, after being charged, with the band’s scheduled appearance at Glastonbury put in doubt at the time. There were even calls from the Prime Minister for them to be booted off.
However, with the set ready to still go ahead, the band have furiously hit out at the reaction to their actions. Kneecap, which is also made up of Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, will still perform on the West Holts Stage on Saturday, and said they have “enough s*** to worry about” when it comes to the fallout from their actions.
In a chat with the Guardian, Ó hAnnaidh was asked if he regretted the moment. However, he insisted it was a joke and he portrays a character. “S*** is thrown on stage all the time,” he said. “If I’m supposed to know every f***ing thing that’s thrown on stage [including the Hezbollah flag] I’d be in Mensa, Jesus Christ.”
He went on: “I don’t know every proscribed organisation – I’ve got enough s*** to worry about up there. I’m thinking about my next lyric, my next joke, the next drop of a beat.”
And he also asked why he should regret his “dead Tory” comments. “It was a joke,” he defiantly said. “we’re playing characters, it’s satirical, it’s a f***ing joke.”
He went on to say the video “wasn’t an issue” until the band’s “Free Palestine” comment at Coachella. “The point is, and the context is, it all [resurfaced] because of Coachella. That’s what we should be questioning, not whether I regret things,” he said.
In May, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who uses the stage name Mo Chara, was charged over the alleged display of a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London last November.
The band have strongly denied the charges brought against the star and released a statement to insist they will “vehemently defend” themselves against what they claimed was “political policing”. The court heard the 27-year-old is “well within his rights” to voice his opinions on Israel and Palestine, but the alleged incident is a “wholly different thing”.
At the hearing, Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove said: “Of course, support for the one is not the same as support for the other.
“So the issue in this case, and the reason it has come to court, it centres on the apparent support by Mr Óg Ó hAnnaidh of a proscribed terrorist organisation.”
Óg Ó hAnnaidh was released on unconditional bail until his next hearing at the same court on August 20. His release has allowed the band to play their controversial Glastonbury set. However, it’s not thought that the set will be broadcast live on the BBC.
Source: Mirror
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