Kneecap performed at Coachella on Friday April 11. The Northern Irish rap trio is often outspoken about human rights issues, especially so during live performances -- but you may not have been able to tell from the festival's livestream. Kneecap said afterwards that their onstage digs at Margaret Thatcher and their support for Palestine were censored during the broadcast.
"If anyone is still wondering, Margaret Thatcher's still dead," one of the Kneecap guys told the crowd -- it's dark and they're wearing hats so it's hard to tell who! -- before leading them in a "Maggie's in a box" chant. Later on, they took to social media to say that along with their anti-Thatcher remarks, their "free Palestine" chants were censored from American livestreams. Leftist social media personality Hasan Piker chimed in online to say he had an idea to help them dodge any censoring of their Weekend Two performance.
Nicolas Jaar, however, spoke at length about Palestine, Mahmoud Khalil, and other political topics and his remarks were livestreamed. “Free Palestine," Jarr said before Darkside's final song on Saturday. He continued:
"Palestine will be free. These lands that we are on right now, here were committed the genocides that are the blueprint for what’s happening in Palestine right now. The same racist logic. We must continue resisting, here from the belly of the beast. Because this genocide is funded by American money, with technology from Silicon Valley, and thanks to the complicity of all the politicians in this country. I also wanna say that today, these days, as some of you may know, just protesting a genocide that is happening means you can get deported, like Mahmoud Khalil. That doesn’t feel right. Mahmoud and many others are in ICE detention jails. These jails are run for profit by groups like — what the fuck is it called — CoreCivic and GEO Group, they make money off keeping people in cells. We need to keep fighting them. For the sake of everyone there stuck without trial and with no hope, we need to give hope."
Later on Saturday, Green Day worked in a quick pro-Palestine message as well. They changed the "Jesus Of Suburbia" lyric "running away from pain when you've been victimized" to "running away from pain like the kids from Palestine."
On Sunday Amy Taylor also shared this speech during Amyl And The Sniffers' set:
“I think it’s a super tough time all across America and I just wanna extend my love and support to all the trans people, to all the gay people, to all the Black people, to all the immigrants illegal and legal as well. And everybody else including women and the fuckin’ men. ‘Cause you know what, everybody’s getting fucked up from it, and you know exactly what I’m talking about. But also I'd like to extend my heart to the people in Palestine and the people in Ukraine. Because fuck dying in any capacity and fuck getting murdered by other people for bullshit.”
See clips below.
Not the only thing that was cut - our messaging on the US-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either.
Back next Friday Coachella and it’ll be sorted
Grma to everyone who packed out the tent https://t.co/R8Egq5lS9q
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 12, 2025
Let’s collaborate comrade
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 12, 2025
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