Repost: National Post, "Indigenous leaders call for cancellation of Kneecap..."
I didn’t first hear of Kneecap through their music. No one did. The Irish rap trio came onto my radar through rape allegations plastered across Reddit and social media. It is not a band, it is a controversy machine. When I finally listened I heard amateur garbage. They sound like a hip-hop Sublime cover band formed in a parking lot. They sound like.a fake band in a TV show. Their music is a joke, and deep down, even their fans know it.
But controversy pays. After October 7, the hype machine needed new heroes—especially white, anti-Israel, men. They apparently couldn’t find talented people to fit the need. Enter Kneecap. Suddenly, Irish Twitter (both North and South, because they are still split by religion, despite pointing fingers at Israel as an ethnostate) couldn't shut up about how they were “the greatest band ever.” Try asking one of these Stans to name a song. Watch the silence. This isn’t grassroots fandom. It’s a political LARP gone viral. Their rise came not from music, but from slogans and terrorist flirtation in the wake of the worst music festival disaster yet.
The press swooned over the alleged rapists, leaving out any mention of these allegations. Articles praised them as punk saviors and rebel poets without a single critical word about the sound itself. And let’s be clear, their sound is indefensible. At the same time, these same outlets had barely a thing to say about the raped, mutilated, and burned bodies of Nova victims. When Jews complained about the one sided coverage, they were told to stop playing victim. Now Kneecap were the real victims, getting gig after gif, endless coverage. People not remotely involved with Israel or Palestine, let alone the Shia destruction of Lebanon, were praised as the real victims, raking in money and attention from the useful idiots.
Indigenous leaders are now calling for Kneecap’s cancellation—not just over the rape accusations swept under the rug, not for being named after an act slightly less tortorous than listening to their music, but for their open support of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. And I’ll leave the article below to talk about that.
Here's my focus: if these posers are so passionate about Gaza, where’s the money? They've admitted to donating under $10,000 total. I know people who make far less, who donated much more… to Israel. Because they’re serious bout it. About half of the alleged donations from the alleged rapists went to an extremely sketchy charity, with no transparency or receipts. It reeks of grift. Of course, not a single tabloid has followed up. Yelling “Free Palestine” makes people exempt from basic journalism.
Kneecap have caused a fresh wave of “Grifts for Palestine.” Protest rappers Bob Vylan—also cashing in on performative antisemitism—have donated zero. Nothing. Not one Shek. But the headlines keep coming, because anti-Israel noise sells, even if the music doesn’t. And the hostages continue to get ignored, the plan for how to distriute aid to Gaza keep getting screamed at, and nobody seems to really care.
This repost is part of a broader exposé I’m working on: how the music press buried real victims, fawned over mediocrity, and gave a standing ovation to political cosplayers in balaclavas. Expect receipts. And expect a wave of retroactive charity PR from artists who figured out that violent hate for Jews is a great marketing angle. Better they donate late than never.
Article repsost taken without permission: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/indigenous-leaders-call-for-cancellation-of-kneecap-concerts-over-alleged-support-for-hamas-hezbollah
Irish rap band Kneecap performs at the Glastonbury festival in Pilton, England, on June 28, 2025. Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Indigenous leaders call for cancellation of Kneecap concerts over alleged support for Hamas, Hezbollah
One leader says allowing the Irish hip-hop group to perform its four sold-out shows in Canada would constitute a 'defilement of the land'
Tyler Dawson; Jul 12, 2025
A group of Indigenous leaders are pushing for the cancellation of shows featuring the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap, arguing the rappers glorify terrorism and promote antisemitism.
“Kneecap has outwardly supported antisemitism, genocide, and the indiscriminate murder of civilians. Allowing them to play in Canada would be a stain on our country’s reputation,” says the letter, signed by nine Indigenous leaders in Canada.
Kneecap, a Belfast-based trio comprised of Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (who performs under the name Mo Chara), Naoise Ó Cairealláin (Móglaí Bap) and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Próvaí), has seen a number of concerts cancelled amid the band’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel.
Ó hAnnaidh faces charges under the British Terrorism Act for allegedly waving the flag of Hezbollah, the Lebanese terror group, last November. (He is out on bail.)
“We deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves. This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction,” the group wrote on social media, according to al Jazeera.
The letter argues that Kneecap, having allegedly voiced support for Hezbollah and Hamas, should not be allowed to play in Canada on Indigenous land.
“By allowing Kneecap to perform on Indigenous lands, Live Nation and the MRG Group are not only endorsing rhetoric that promotes division, hate, and glorification of terror — they are violating the spirit and obligations of the Treaties of Peace and Friendship,” the letter states. (The peace and friendship treaties were a series of treaties signed between the British and the Mi’kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy people prior to 1779.)
Kneecap has four shows planned for Canada, two in Toronto and two in Vancouver. All four October shows are sold out. The signatories of the letter are calling on Live Nation, the concert promoted, and MRG Group, which manages the venues where Kneecap is playing: History in Toronto and the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver.
Concerts elsewhere have been scrapped and politicians have called for further cancellations since Kneecap played a set at California’s Coachella music festival in April and accused Israel of committing genocide, something the Jewish state has vehemently denied. The group has also compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to the actions of the British in Ireland during the Troubles.
“The Irish not so long ago were persecuted by the Brits, but we were never bombed from the f–king skies with nowhere to go! The Palestinians have nowhere to go – it’s their f–king home and they’re bombing them from the sky. If you’re not calling it a genocide what the f–k are you calling it?” Ó hAnnaidh said on stage in California.
News reports have also cited video from a 2023 concert that appears to show a band member saying “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah” and another that allegedly shows a band member saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
Grand Chief Harvey Yesno, one of the signatories of the letter and the former chief of Eabametoong First Nation and grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, said that part of the reason Indigenous leaders are speaking out is to reassert their voices within Canada.
“We’re in a land of freedom to express yourself … so that’s allowed throughout the country. But the difference is, is when you’re inciting hate and violence and acknowledging who — Canada has put some of these organizations as terrorist organizations. That’s where we draw the line,” said Yesno. “So, our concern there is the defilement of the land, because we believe that, as the Indigenous people on these lands, that we have a responsibility to point out, hey, wait a minute, you can’t be doing that. You can’t be inciting violence here on our lands because the defilement of the land causes things to happen amongst the people.”
Yesno said the group has yet to receive a response from the concert organizers. The signatories are largely involved with Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem, an international group of Indigenous people from various countries that expresses Indigenous solidarity with Israel.
In late June, Kneecap played a show at England’s Glastonbury Festival, despite Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, saying it would be inappropriate. Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the U.K. Conservative Party, called on the British Broadcasting Corporation to not broadcast Kneecap’s show; the public broadcaster demurred, saying it does not ban artists.
“It’s not about us, it’s about distraction and a loud warning to other acts to stay silent or we will try silence you,” Kneecap wrote on X.
Kneecap could not be reached for comment. Live Nation and MRG Group did not respond to National Post’s request for comment.
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