Irish rap trio Kneecap speak out against calls for them to clarify support for Hamas

The Irish rap group released a statement on Monday, April 27 addressing allegations they had made comments supporting and Hezbollah and called for the. The statement comes after the Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin called for the group to "urgently clarify" their comments in response after newly-resurfaced concert videos caused a social media frenzy.

Micheál Martin told reporters on April 28: “Have they, or do they, support Hamas and Hezbollah? Because that would be unacceptable." The group has condemned the resurfaced footage as part of a against them which began after they during their performance earlier in the month.

During their second-weekend performance at the US festival, Kneecap displayed messages which read: “ is committing genocide against the Palestinian people” and another than read “F--- Israel. Free Palestine”.

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In a statement released on and X on April 27, the group said: “They want you to believe words are more harmful than genocide. Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history.”

The Belfast group has come under fire by for making statements that, critics believe, support the violent actions of Hamas and Hezbollah. The rap trio deny these accusations. The allegations arose after a video clip from a November 2024 concert began circulating on social media, which some suggested showed a member of the band shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police "We were made aware of a video on 22 April, believed to be from an event in November 2024, and it has been for assessment and to determine whether any further police investigation may be required."

"We have also been made aware of another video believed to be from an event in November 2023," Met Police continued. This second video refers to a concert footage in which a band member is alleged to say: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” Police in London are examining the 2024 footage along with the video from November 2023.

The group says that the footage was “deliberately taken out of context” with the express purpose of silencing them. In their statement, Kneecap alleges that unnamed “establishment figures” had “combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews” with the goal of “manufactur[ing] moral hysteria”.

The trio has also been accused of inciting violence against members of Parliament for their alleged comments about killing MPs, which they have further denied. On the same day the announcement was shared, official spokesman said the Prime Minister believed the recent comments attributed to the band in the footage were and “condemns them in the strongest possible terms”.

Online reaction to the statement is mixed, though many fans have flooded the group with messages of support. One Instagram user wrote: “The fact that three lads from Belfast are now leading a global conversation about genocide, media accountability and establishment bias is incredible. It's f---ing brave, ballsy and this will lead to change as long as we keep the conversation going and growing.”

Another commenter suggested that while political retaliation is unsurprising, the group should hang-firm in their pro-Palestinian support: “The smear campaign has been brutal, expected but brutal! Remain rooted to your truth and what you stand for.”

The group of two murdered MPs directly in their statement. “To the and families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt,” it reads.

The group ends their statement by saying the real crimes have been committed by the political classes of Britain, by the “silence and complicity of those in power.”

Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert shared with the Irish broadcaster that the band has received “severe” death threats following their Coachella set. They have also had upcoming festival bookings cancelled. Most recently, the Hurricane Festival in Germany and its sister event, the Southside Festival, have cancelled planned appearances from Kneecap this summer.