After being criticized by Sharon Osbourne for their Coachella set, the Irish rap group Kneecap received backlash from their fans.
Kneecap’s Coachella performance set the Internet aflame, after the Irish rap group began a pro-Palestine chant during one of their sets and platformed anti-genocide messaging. Following their set, Sharon Osbourne became the latest public figure to condemn the performance, advocating for their US work visas to be revoked. Despite this, fans have been quick to show the West Belfast musicians their support.
Sharon Osbourne, the trio “took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements,” she wrote in an X post. She continued, “I urge you join me in calling for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa,” saying that they “openly support terrorist groups.”
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Ozzy Osbourne, a British singer in the rock band Black Sabbath, and Sharon is well-known for their union. War Pigs, an anti-war song that heavily criticizes the “war machine,” is one of his most well-known hits. The song attacked the brutality of war, which causes the deaths of countless innocent people.
Kneecap quickly reacted to the online criticism with a quick clap of applause. They wrote in a post to X that, “Among the hundreds of violent Zionist threats, there are thousands of these [messages]”. screenshots of fans’ supportive messages were included in the post.
“Retired British Military (Royal Navy) Officer in Bangor,” one read. Send me a message about you. Palestine that is free.
The group also hit back at Sharon’s harsh condemnation. Speaking to HuffPost UK, the band said: “Statements aren’t aggressive, murdering…children is though. Or executing 15 medics and burying them and their ambulances.”
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, since 7 October 2023, over 51,000 Palestinians have been killed – more than a third of which have been children. Meanwhile, the Israeli military states that 408 of its soldiers have been killed in combat, as reported by the BBC.
Following the Rap Group’s recent controversy surrounding its Coachella performance, all of this comes at a high level. On April 19 at the festival’s second weekend, Kneecap displayed three screens of text at the end of their set.
The first read: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. This was followed by: “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.” A final screen added: “F–k Israel. Free Palestine.”
Moglai Bap, the singer of Kneecap, then addressed the audience, “We were never bombed from the skies with nowhere to go, but the Irish were persecuted by the Brits not so long ago. There is no place for the Palestinians. They are bombing it from the sky because it is their home. What do you call it if you’re not referring to it as a genocide?
He then went on to lead the crowd into a “free Palestine” chant. The performance was not streamed to Coachella’s official YouTube channel.
Source: Mirror
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