Music News

Sharon Osbourne has shared her disdain of Northern Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap and the outspoken messaging present in their recent Coachella set, going so far as to call for the revocation of their work visas.

Osbourne shared her comments on social media on Tuesday (April 22), days after Kneecap played the second weekend of the Coachella festival. The Friday (April 18) performance drew recognition for the band’s use of strong anti-Israel sentiments during their set – sentiments which they had claimed were censored during their first weekend appearance.

“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the projected messages read. “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.” 

These messages weren’t the only pro-Palestinian sentiments shared during the 2025 edition of the festival. Notably, Green Day altered lyrics to reflect the plight of Palestinian children, while names such as Bob Vylan and Blonde Redhead displayed Palestinian flags during their sets. In the case of the latter, the onstage event was soundtracked by audio of Mahmoud Khalil – the detained Columbia University graduate student currently being held in an immigration detention center following his role in on-campus protests.

However, Osbourne shared a lengthy response to the apparent politicisation of Coachella, noting that this year’s edition will be remembered “as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity.”

“Goldenvoice, the festival organizer, facilitated this by allowing artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression,” she wrote. “At a time when the world is experiencing significant unrest, music should serve as an escape, not a stage for political discourse. 

“While festivals like Coachella showcase remarkable talent from around the globe, music’s primary purpose is to unite people. It should not be a venue for promoting terrorist organizations or spreading hate.”

As Osbourne continued, she noted that despite being a fan of Saturday headliners Green Day, she felt that their own views of events in the Middle East would have been more appropriate if shared “at their own concert, not at a festival.” Kneecap’s sentiments, however, were deemed so egregious that she closed by asking supporters to join in her “advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa.”

“Kneecap, an Irish rap group, took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements,” Osbourne wrote. “Their actions included projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech, and this band openly support terrorist organizations. 

“This behavior raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and further shows they are booked to play in the USA. Reports indicate that Goldenvoice was unaware of Kneecap’s political intentions when they were booked. However, after witnessing their performance during the first weekend, allowing them to perform again the following weekend suggests support of their rhetoric and a lack of due diligence.”

In the wake of Kneecap’s performance, Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett reportedly claimed he was “blindsided” by the band’s actions. While HYBE America CEO and former talent manager Scooter Braun – who previously staged exhibits in Los Angeles and Israel about the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel – defended Tollett, Osbourne expressed disbelief that anyone who attended exhibits such as Braun’s could book an artist such as Kneecap for the festival.

“Furthermore, the Independent Artists Group, which represents Kneecap, includes individuals of Jewish heritage,” she continued. “It is disheartening that they have not used their positions to prevent the promotion of such controversial messages. Shame on them. 

“As someone with both Irish Catholic on my Mothers side and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage on my Fathers side, and extensive experience in the music industry, I understand the complexities involved,” she added. “Goldenvoice’s claim of being ‘blindsided’ by Kneecap’s performance seems implausible given the circumstances. I know for a fact that certain people in the industry had written to Goldenvoice, airing their concerns around the booking of Kneecap.”

For their part, Kneecap have not responded directly to the criticism of their messaging, instead sharing examples of the myriad supportive messages they have received in the wake of their Coachella sets. The group will return to North America in October for another run of live dates.