At Glastonbury, left-wing politics are shocking again
This idea was always disingenuous; when they gain authority, American conservatives almost inevitably use the force of the state to censor ideas they don't like. But it took hold because it contained a grain of truth.
Left-wing culture, especially online, could be censorious, leaving many who interacted with it afraid of saying the wrong thing and resentful of its smothering pieties. The right, by contrast, offered the license to spout off without inhibition. That is almost certainly part of what drew so many alienated men into Trump's orbit. In 2018, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West said that wearing a MAGA hat symbolised 'overcoming fear and doing what you felt, no matter what anyone said'. This year, his id fully liberated, he put out a track titled Heil Hitler.
Increasingly, however, it's the left that is rediscovering the cultural power of shock, largely because of horror over the massacres in the Gaza Strip and the minefield of taboos around discussing them. Consider the international uproar over the performance of the punk rap duo Bob Vylan at Britain's Glastonbury music festival this past weekend. The act's singer led a teeming crowd — some waving Palestinian flags — in chants of 'Death, death to the IDF,' the Israel Defence Forces. Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, criticised Bob Vylan for 'appalling hate speech,' and demanded answers from the BBC for why it aired the set. The police are reviewing footage of the show to see whether any criminal laws were broken. (Bob Vylan was set to tour the United States this year, but the State Department has revoked its members' visas.)
The band was not the only one at Glastonbury to cause a scandal. Even before the festival started, Starmer criticised it for featuring the Irish rap group Kneecap on the lineup. In April, Kneecap led crowds at Coachella in chants of 'Free, free Palestine' and displayed messages accusing Israel of genocide, prompting the sponsor of their US visas to drop them. Footage later emerged of one member of the band, Mo Chara, displaying a Hezbollah flag, leading to a terrorism charge. (He has said the flag was thrown onstage and he didn't know what it represented.) The police are also investigating Kneecap's appearance at Glastonbury for possible public order offences.
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Both these bands intended to be inflammatory, and they succeeded. 'What happened at Glastonbury over the weekend is part of a coordinated, ideological insurgency against the Jewish people,' Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote in The Free Press. 'The level of depravity displayed at #Glastonbury2025 was astonishing, one that should prompt serious self-reflection and soul-searching among British society,' wrote Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League. It's hard to remember the last time musicians managed to cause such outrage.
I understand why supporters of Israel are frightened and disgusted by the spectacle at Glastonbury. Many see no reason other than antisemitism for growing progressive hostility to Zionism. They've witnessed Jews being attacked, demonised and ostracised in the name of justice for the Palestinians. They find it especially bitter to see violence against Israel cheered at a music festival less than two years after a music festival in Israel was attacked by Hamas.
But while antisemitism surely drives some animus toward Israel, it's not nearly enough to explain why so many idealistic young people have become so deeply invested in the cause of Palestine and so sickened by the pulverisation of Gaza. To understand why, you need to grasp what Israel's war in Gaza looks like to them.
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After the verdict, Ventura's lawyer Douglas Wigdor said in a statement that she had "paved the way" for Combs' conviction. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 A US judge has denied Sean "Diddy" Combs' request for release from jail ahead of sentencing, after the music mogul was cleared of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life but found guilty of lesser prostitution-related offences. At a hearing in Manhattan federal court hours after the verdict was read, US District Judge Arun Subramanian said Combs must remain in federal lockup in Brooklyn for now given the ample evidence presented at trial of violent acts Combs had committed. "It is impossible for the defendant to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses no danger," Subramanian said. The verdict on Wednesday was overall a win for Combs, a former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture. The 12-member jury unanimously convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. It acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking two of his former romantic partners: the rhythm and blues singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane. Prosecutors acknowledged in a court filing that federal sentencing guidelines appeared to recommend a maximum sentence of five-and-a-quarter years. Combs' lawyers argued that two years would be the outer limit. After the verdict, Combs knelt before his chair and appeared to pray. Combs then rose and faced the courtroom gallery. "I'm gonna be home soon," he said, smiling and clasping his hands. "I love you. Thank you, I love you." Combs' family and supporters erupted into applause and cheers. Once famed for hosting lavish parties for the cultural elite in luxurious locales like the Hamptons and Saint-Tropez, Combs had pleaded not guilty to all five counts. 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After the verdict, Ventura's lawyer Douglas Wigdor said in a statement that she had "paved the way" for Combs' conviction. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 A US judge has denied Sean "Diddy" Combs' request for release from jail ahead of sentencing, after the music mogul was cleared of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life but found guilty of lesser prostitution-related offences. At a hearing in Manhattan federal court hours after the verdict was read, US District Judge Arun Subramanian said Combs must remain in federal lockup in Brooklyn for now given the ample evidence presented at trial of violent acts Combs had committed. "It is impossible for the defendant to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses no danger," Subramanian said. The verdict on Wednesday was overall a win for Combs, a former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture. The 12-member jury unanimously convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. It acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking two of his former romantic partners: the rhythm and blues singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane. Prosecutors acknowledged in a court filing that federal sentencing guidelines appeared to recommend a maximum sentence of five-and-a-quarter years. Combs' lawyers argued that two years would be the outer limit. After the verdict, Combs knelt before his chair and appeared to pray. Combs then rose and faced the courtroom gallery. "I'm gonna be home soon," he said, smiling and clasping his hands. "I love you. Thank you, I love you." Combs' family and supporters erupted into applause and cheers. Once famed for hosting lavish parties for the cultural elite in luxurious locales like the Hamptons and Saint-Tropez, Combs had pleaded not guilty to all five counts. He faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence on each of the two prostitution counts. Combs' lawyers had urged Subramanian to release Combs on $1 million bond, arguing in a court filing the prostitution offences were "far less serious" than the sex trafficking and racketeering charges he faced at the time he was ordered detained pending trial. Prosecutors argued Combs should remain in jail because he remained a danger to the community, pointing to Jane's testimony at trial that he assaulted her and coerced her into sex with a male prostitute in June 2024 while he was aware he was under federal investigation. The seven-week trial focused on prosecutors' allegations that Combs for two decades used his business empire to force Ventura and Jane to take part in drug-fuelled, days-long sexual performances sometimes known as "Freak Offs" with male sex workers in hotel rooms while Combs watched, masturbated and occasionally filmed. Prosecutors unsuccessfully argued that Combs' conduct toward both women amounted to sex trafficking because he compelled Ventura and Jane to take part in the performances using physical violence and threats to withhold financial support or leak sexually explicit images of them. After the verdict, Combs' family left the courthouse to chants of "love, love, love" from Combs' supporters. During his career, Combs' stage monikers included Love, Puff Daddy and P. Diddy. In a statement after the verdict, Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel said sex crimes were "all too present" across society and that Americans wanted it to stop. Combs still faces dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of abuse. Ventura sued him in November 2023 for sex trafficking, and they settled a day later for $US20 million ($A30 million). Combs, once feted for turning artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, has denied all wrongdoing. After the verdict, Ventura's lawyer Douglas Wigdor said in a statement that she had "paved the way" for Combs' conviction. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 A US judge has denied Sean "Diddy" Combs' request for release from jail ahead of sentencing, after the music mogul was cleared of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life but found guilty of lesser prostitution-related offences. At a hearing in Manhattan federal court hours after the verdict was read, US District Judge Arun Subramanian said Combs must remain in federal lockup in Brooklyn for now given the ample evidence presented at trial of violent acts Combs had committed. "It is impossible for the defendant to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses no danger," Subramanian said. The verdict on Wednesday was overall a win for Combs, a former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture. The 12-member jury unanimously convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. It acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking two of his former romantic partners: the rhythm and blues singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane. Prosecutors acknowledged in a court filing that federal sentencing guidelines appeared to recommend a maximum sentence of five-and-a-quarter years. Combs' lawyers argued that two years would be the outer limit. After the verdict, Combs knelt before his chair and appeared to pray. Combs then rose and faced the courtroom gallery. "I'm gonna be home soon," he said, smiling and clasping his hands. "I love you. Thank you, I love you." Combs' family and supporters erupted into applause and cheers. Once famed for hosting lavish parties for the cultural elite in luxurious locales like the Hamptons and Saint-Tropez, Combs had pleaded not guilty to all five counts. He faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence on each of the two prostitution counts. Combs' lawyers had urged Subramanian to release Combs on $1 million bond, arguing in a court filing the prostitution offences were "far less serious" than the sex trafficking and racketeering charges he faced at the time he was ordered detained pending trial. Prosecutors argued Combs should remain in jail because he remained a danger to the community, pointing to Jane's testimony at trial that he assaulted her and coerced her into sex with a male prostitute in June 2024 while he was aware he was under federal investigation. The seven-week trial focused on prosecutors' allegations that Combs for two decades used his business empire to force Ventura and Jane to take part in drug-fuelled, days-long sexual performances sometimes known as "Freak Offs" with male sex workers in hotel rooms while Combs watched, masturbated and occasionally filmed. Prosecutors unsuccessfully argued that Combs' conduct toward both women amounted to sex trafficking because he compelled Ventura and Jane to take part in the performances using physical violence and threats to withhold financial support or leak sexually explicit images of them. After the verdict, Combs' family left the courthouse to chants of "love, love, love" from Combs' supporters. During his career, Combs' stage monikers included Love, Puff Daddy and P. Diddy. In a statement after the verdict, Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel said sex crimes were "all too present" across society and that Americans wanted it to stop. Combs still faces dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of abuse. Ventura sued him in November 2023 for sex trafficking, and they settled a day later for $US20 million ($A30 million). Combs, once feted for turning artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, has denied all wrongdoing. After the verdict, Ventura's lawyer Douglas Wigdor said in a statement that she had "paved the way" for Combs' conviction. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
