Irish rap duo Kneecap called out the “coordinated smear campaign” and “false accusations of antisemitism” amid reports that they have split up with their booking agency.
The politically outspoken group caused uproar after making a series of anti-Israel and pro-Palestine statements at the Coachella Festival, which prompted Zionists such as Sharon Osborne to call for their US visas to be revoked.
“Since our statements at Coachella – exposing the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people – we have faced a coordinated smear campaign,” the group said in a statement posted to Instagram.
“For over a year, we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish governments’ complicity in war crimes.”
They would continued: “The recent attacks against us, largely emanating from the US, are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods. We are taking action against several of those malicious efforts.”
Kneecap said the reason they were being “targeted” was simple: “We are telling the truth, and our audience is growing. Those attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter. They weaponise false accusations of antisemitism to distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide.
“We do not give a f*** what religion anyone practices. We know there are massive numbers of Jewish people outraged by this genocide just as we are. What we care about is that governments of the countries we perform in are enabling some of the most horrific crimes of our lifetimes – and we will not stay silent.”
At Coachella festival earlier this month, they displayed a graphic that read “F*** Israel, Free Palestine” during their set.
Kneecap are currently being investigated by counter terror police for allegedly saying “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”. Read more about that here.
