Irish rap group Kneecap rebuffed critics of comments it made about Israel during a Coachella performance, arguing that the statements were "not aggressive" when compared to Israel's actions in Gaza.
During a Coachella set April 18, the rap group led chants of "free, free Palestine" and displayed messages condemning Israel's actions, accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians with U.S. support, according to The Guardian. Kneecap's Mo Chara criticized Israel's bombing of Gaza, calling it genocide.
"The Palestinians have nowhere to go," Chara said. "It's their [expletive] home and they're bombing them from the skies. If you're not calling it a genocide, what the [expletive] are you calling it?"
After the performance, British TV personality Sharon Osbourne, wife of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, criticized the band for mixing "aggressive political statements" into its set, labeling it as hate speech and suggesting its U.S. visas should be revoked.
"This band openly support terrorist organisations," Osbourne wrote on social media. "This behaviour raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and further shows they are booked to play in the USA."
Fox News commentators also condemned the group, drawing comparisons between its remarks and those from Nazi Germany.
Asked for a response to Osbourne's comments, the band told the BBC: "Statements aren't aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is, though."
After its Coachella performance, Kneecap's manager, Daniel Lambert, told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that the band had been targeted with serious death threats, which he described as "too severe to get into."
The trio, consisting of Móglaí Bap and Mo Chara from Belfast and DJ Próvaí from Derry, has gained a strong following in the U.S. On Thursday, the group revealed that its entire October tour across Canada and the U.S. has sold out.
The U.S. State Department told BBC News Northern Ireland that when deciding to revoke work visas, it looks at information "may indicate a potential visa ineligibility under U.S. immigration laws, pose a threat to public safety, or other situations where revocation is warranted."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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