The organisers of Coachella 2025 were reportedly “blindsided” by Kneecap’s pro-Palestinian messages and chants at the festival.
The Irish rap trio made headlines with their performances on the Sonora Stage at both weekends of the California festival.
First time around, the live stream of their set was cut after they voiced their support for a free Palestine, and also led the crowd in a provocative anti-Margaret Thatcher chant. “Not only was that cut,” they later said, referring to the Thatcher refrain, “our messaging on the US-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either.”
At the second weekend, the band provided their own livestream, with political commentator Hasan Piker broadcasting their set live on Twitch. Slogans including “Fuck Israel, Free Palestine”, “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people” and “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes” were projected on the screen behind them as they played.
Some uncensored messaging to Coachella 🤝🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/WbHZBrCZl5
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 19, 2025
During their second set, Mo Chara delivered a brief speech, telling the crowd: “The Irish not so long ago were persecuted at the hands of the Brits, but we were never bombed from the fucking skies with nowhere to go.
“The Palestinians have nowhere to go, it’s their fucking home and they’re bombing them from the skies,” he added. “If you’re not calling it a genocide what the fuck are you calling it?” The band then led a “Free, Free Palestine” chant.
In a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, Paul Tollett, the CEO of festival organiser Goldenvoice was said to have been “blindsided” by Kneecap’s antics, after Jewish groups called them out for providing a platform for the messaging.
Kneecap’s long-standing support of Palestine has seen them loudly broadcast their message via social media and high-profile TV appearances. In their Cover feature for NME last year, they made their stance against what they call Israel’s “occupation and genocide” of Gaza clear, and went on to help raise nearly £100,000 for a volunteer gym in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine.
More recently, they hit out at Israel for breaking the Gaza ceasefire in a “slaughter” against the “most vulnerable people on earth”. It followed the ‘Better Way To Live’ artists slamming the Prime Minister of Ireland, calling Micheál Martin a “lick-arse” and “scumbag” after his recent visit to the White House to meet US President Donald Trump.
Back in January, when their film was left out of the Oscar nominations in January despite having been longlisted, the band responded by tweeting: “Fuck the Oscars. Free Palestine.”
Their response was in line with their reaction to the news of a ceasefire in Gaza on January 16, where they posted “we must not forget what Israel has done”.