Kneecap received death threats after Coachella gig, says manager
They read: 'Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people', 'It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes' and 'F*** Israel. Free Palestine.'
The Irish rappers posted to X and referred to 'hundreds of violent Zionist threats'.
Festivalgoers at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California (Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
In an interview on RTE Radio, the musicians' manager Daniel Lambert confirmed the band had received death treats, and that the nature of the threats would be 'too severe' to outline on air.
'I think that, to the band's massive credit, there's three working-class young people here who've built a career for themselves on the basis of the Irish language and music and culture and identity,' Mr Lambert said.
'They have the bravery and the conviction – especially given where they've come from in post-conflict society – to stand up for what's right, and are willing to do that despite the fact that it may harm their career, despite the fact that it may harm their income, and they should be praised massively for that.
'It's an extremely strong position for young people to take, especially young people from a working-class background.'
When asked if they were at risk of tarring everyone in Israel with the same brush, Mr Lambert said: 'Absolutely not.
'I think when you refer to 'Israel' in messaging, as we did, that you're referring to the Israeli government.'
Mr Lambert said that suggesting the rappers' message at Coachella was offensive would be 'buying into moral hysteria' and said the real issue was the tens of thousands of people being killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.
'If somebody is hurt by the truth, that's something for them to be hurt by. But it's really important to speak truth, and thankfully, the lads are not afraid to do that.'
He added: 'The beautiful reaction has been the hundreds of young Americans who came up to us at Coachella, to the lads, to say that they had said something that wasn't being said in America and that these kids believed in.
'That was said to us by young girls, young boys, people in their 20s, 30s, and so, so many people came up to say thank you for saying what is right, what is just, and something that sadly isn't said enough.'
Mr Lambert asked why a statement by Euro-Med on Friday, where it stated that Israeli forces had deliberately targeted 37 aid distribution centres and 28 food banks 'to starve civilians' was not being focused on 'rather than the opinions of individuals who felt hurt by factual information'.
Asked about criticism of the band, including their alleged promotion of Hamas and Hezbollah, Mr Lambert said: 'Again, we've openly had Israeli government ministers talk about starving a population, cutting food, cutting water. These are the issues that we should be discussing.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Moment idiot TikTok influencer gets instant karma after pulling stupid prank on the WRONG unwilling victim
A TIKTOK influencer got instant karma after a prank backfired horribly. Video shows that the joke was really on the prankster as plainclothes police officers quickly arrested him. 5 A TikTok influencer got instant karma after a prank backfired horribly 5 A plainclothes officer arrested him immediately 5 The yob was cuffed in the middle of the street Approaching a man in London, the Apple Pay prank involved the influencer going up to a man and tapping their phones together. The prank's victim quickly grabs him by the arm while the perpetrator loudly shouts "hairline" repeatedly. He then tells the man "I took £1,000 out of your account for a new hairline" in reference to his own receding style. As the man continues to hold onto his arm, the cameraman asks his friend whether he should keep filming. Other people then start to get involved, making sure the influencer doesn't get away and saying "you don't go." Despite the chaos, the TikToker tells his cameraman to "keep rolling bro" with a big grin on his face. He quickly changes his tune when the man starts asking people to call the police. The "hairline" prankster quickly starts shouting "bro it's a prank" as he is dragged backwards by the man he was pranking, and a passerby. Another man then approaches the youngster and loudly says: "I am a police officer." As the police officer asks the man to explain what happened, the videographer keeps asking whether he should keep filming. 'You can't make this up' - Irish fans in stitches at Ruesha Littlejohn's playful prank upon Katie McCabe's camp arrival The video captures his friend being put in handcuffs by more plainclothed police officers while he continues to shout that it was "just a prank". The boy is pushed to the floor as the police men tell him to keep still. Despite shouting out in pain and saying they're "breaking my hand off," he encourages his friend to "keep recording." Police then calmly tell him that he has been detained so that they can conduct a stop and search for articles relating to fraud. It's not the first time that pranksters have been dealt instant karma. A teenager who threatened to stab a pedestrian was quickly humiliated when he fell off his bike moments later. Road rage can be a common way for motorists to get instant karma for their reckless driving. Video footage shows two cars locking horns after a risky undertake. A silver car cut across a white line marking a bus lane to undertake a black SUV. Blue lights quickly revealed the black car to be an unmarked police car, leaving social media users laughing at his expense. 5 Police calmly tell him that he has been detained so that they can conduct a stop and search
South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Snow Patrol frontman to perform home city gig with a difference
The event discussing his new book, The Forest Is The Path, is expected to be one of the star attractions of this summer's Open House Festival in Bangor, Co Down. The annual festival includes almost 100 events throughout August, and is expected to attract about 50,000 people to the city, with Bangor Castle Walled Garden and the Court House on the seafront as the focal venues. Lightbody will be talking to Irish author and broadcaster Sinead Gleeson about his book The Forest Is The Path, which was published in March, in what has been billed as a 'very different and incredibly personal hometown appearance', on August 26-27. Among the other stars to appear at the Walled Garden are singers Lisa O'Neill and Mary Coughlan, folk duo Ye Vagabonds, and comedians Paddy Raff, Chris Kent and Neil Delamere. Events at the Court House include The Ocelots, twin brothers from Wexford now based in Germany, and a special festival performance by Northern Ireland Opera. Among the other author events scheduled, former Labour cabinet member Alan Johnson will talk about his new book, Harold Wilson, Chris Whitaker will be discussing his international best-selling novel All The Colours Of The Dark, and American writer Karen Hao will be talking about her new book Empire Of AI. Open House director Kieran Gilmore said the festival puts a spotlight on Bangor's creative talent. 'This year's festival has some of our finest local artists performing in iconic venues throughout the city,' he said. 'From an interview with Gary Lightbody about his new book, to a conversation between Declan Lawn, Bafta-winning writer of Blue Lights, and local author Colin Bateman, to an intimate launch of a new EP by King Cedar, we're bringing around 100 events across a whole range of art forms.' The Open House summer season gets under way on Friday July 4, with the annual Pickie to Pier swimming race, although the Seaside Revival Vintage Festival will not take place this year because of development work on the sea front. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday June 6 at
Western Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
Jury deliberations begin in Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes retrial
The seven-woman, five-man jury is considering two counts of criminal sex act and one count of rape, each relating to a different accuser and a different date. In this case, the criminal sex act charge is the higher-degree felony. Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty. Harvey Weinstein (Olga Fedorova/Pool Photo via AP) Nearly eight years ago, a series of sexual misconduct allegations against the Oscar-winning movie producer propelled the #MeToo movement. Some of those accusations later generated criminal charges and convictions in New York and California. The New York conviction from 2020 was subsequently overturned, leading to the retrial before a new jury and a different judge. Jurors heard more than five weeks of testimony, including lengthy and sometimes fiery questioning of Weinstein's three accusers in the case. Jessica Mann said he raped her in 2013, when she was trying to build an acting career. Miriam Haley accused him of forcibly performing oral sex on her in 2006, when she was looking for work in entertainment production. Kaja Sokola, who was not involved in Weinstein's first trial, told jurors that he forced oral sex on her, too, during 2006. At the time, she was a teenage fashion model trying to break into acting. 'They all had dreams of pursuing careers in the defendant's world, the entertainment industry,' prosecutor Nicole Blumberg told jurors in her closing argument on Tuesday. She contended that Weinstein let the women think he was interested in their careers when what actually interested him were their bodies, and 'he was going to have their bodies and touch their bodies whether they wanted him to or not'. Weinstein chose not to testify. His defence called other witnesses, including some former friends of Ms Sokola's and Ms Mann's. Weinstein's attorneys argued that all three accusers consented to Weinstein's advances because they wanted help with their Hollywood aims. All three stayed on friendly terms with him afterwards, a point the defence emphasised. 'It's transactional, folks. Yes, he wants to fool around with them, and yes, they want something from him,' defence lawyer Arthur Aidala said in his summation on Tuesday.
