Kneecap's downfall is a warning to pathetic Left-wing provocateurs everywhere
When Kneecap – the fanatically anti-Israel, anti-Tory, pro-Republican rap group from Belfast – were awarded almost £15,000 in state funding, I rolled my eyes. I thought: what a waste of taxpayers' money.
Now, however, I've changed my mind. Because watching the abrupt downfall of these smug millennial pseudo-rebels has been worth every penny.
In the past week, two fascinating pieces of video footage have emerged, both taken from Kneecap concerts. In one, a member of the group appears to declare: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP!' And in the other, a member of the group appears to shout: 'Up Hamas, up Hezbollah!'
Since the footage started circulating, Kneecap have been facing a furious backlash. So on Monday night, in a desperate attempt to limit the damage, the group's members released a statement that is almost hilarious in its self-pity.
They claim that the footage has been 'deliberately taken out of all context', and that they are merely the innocent victims of a 'smear campaign'. But hang on, chaps. The question is: did you say the words you're alleged to have said, or not? If you did, this can't be a 'smear'. But if you didn't, why are you now offering your 'heartfelt apologies' to the families of the murdered MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess? If you didn't tell your audience to kill MPs, then you've got nothing to apologise for, have you?
My favourite part of the statement, however, is the claim that 'Kneecap's message has always been – and remains – one of love, inclusion, and hope'. I see. In which case, gentlemen, why exactly did you choose to name yourselves after an extremely brutal method of paramilitary torture? And, while we're on the subject, why does one of you always insist on wearing a balaclava? Does his mummy make him wear it, in case he catches a chill?
At any rate, the statement clearly hasn't saved them. The organisers of a music festival in Cornwall have cancelled Kneecap's slot. The First Minister of Scotland has called on a Scottish music festival to ditch them, too. And a Downing Street spokesman has indicated that they won't be getting any more taxpayers' money. (Kemi Badenoch blocked the funding award for the group during her time as business secretary, only for the money to then be handed over in November last year after Sir Keir Starmer's administration conceded that withholding it had been unlawful.)
Perhaps what will alarm Kneecap most of all, however, is the response from their own fans. Because, now that the group's members have insisted that they've 'never supported Hamas or Hezbollah', they're being inundated with indignant messages from Western admirers of these proscribed terrorist organisations, calling Kneecap 'sellouts' and 'cowards'. (Sample tweet: 'Wow. What a disappointment. Long live the resistance and glory to the martyrs.')
For the rest of us, though, it's tremendously entertaining to watch them get their comeuppance. Let Kneecap's downfall be a warning to pathetic Left-wing provocateurs everywhere.
Anyway, if they're feeling sorry for themselves, here's one small thought to console them: it could be worse. Imagine if there were a Right-wing rap group called, say, Goosestep. And imagine if video footage emerged of Goosestep's members appearing to call for the deaths of Labour MPs, and appearing to voice support for the proscribed far-Right terrorist organisation National Action. Do we think the organisers of Glastonbury would be taking this long to decide whether or not to cancel their slot?
Trick question, obviously. Because such a group would never have got booked in the first place.
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