Artists excel in the art of controversy. Art has a duty to challenge societal norms and beliefs. It should make us think and spark public discourse. Occasionally, this lands artists in hot water, as DH Lawrence, Francis Bacon and Sinéad O’Connor all discovered. Now, it is the turn of Kneecap.
The Irish-speaking rap group from Belfast attracted widespread condemnation in the UK for their actions at some of their recent gigs. At the end of their show at the Coachella music and arts festival on April 18th, messages appeared on the screens behind the band, including “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people” and “F**k Israel; free Palestine”.
Counter-terrorism police in London are now investigating videos of incidents at two gigs in London.
Predictably, Kneecap’s support for Palestine and their alleged violent words against Tory politicians have been unanimously denounced by everyone on the political spectrum in Westminster, from Labour’s prime minister Keir Starmer to the Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, including the SNP first minister of Scotland John Swinney.
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The fallout has been considerable. Several of their gigs have already been cancelled, including three in Germany, and the British government has called on the organisers of Glastonbury to “think carefully” about allowing a planned appearance by the band to go ahead. They are being punished for their words, which is a reminder of the weight of language, but also the moral responsibility that comes with it.
The three musicians found fame when their semi-fictionalised film Kneecap was released in 2024 to international critical acclaim, winning a British Academy of Film Award in February 2025. Apart from the music, the energy, the comedy and the drama, what the film is essentially about is the power of language to shape our identify. Our language defines who we are. As Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor argues, we define our identity always in dialogue, with our contemporaries but especially with our ancestors.
Language is a strange alchemy, to be used judiciously. Words can be inspiring, heartening, bolstering, and they can also hurt. Ludwig Wittgenstein, the most influential philosopher of language of the 20th century, remarked that words don’t just reflect meaning, they get things done. By saying something, we do something. Shouting the words “shoot!” at the television screen when my team is playing football is harmless, and very different from the same words being uttered by the officer of a firing squad. The question is, are Kneecap fanatic supporters of a cause or executioners?
Yelling “up Hamas, up Hizbullah” at a live concert is a speech-act. These words are not just expressing a sentiment, they are a rallying call with the aim of encouraging people to act in support of a particular cause. Kneecap are using their words to try to persuade, convince or motivate their listeners in the audience to do something about the enduring brutality and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
While all words have consequences, it would be wise to abstain from making rush comparisons between slogans shouted at a concert, and the infamous “Rivers of Blood” speech by Enoch Powell from April 1968; or Donald Trump’s incendiary speech on January 6th, 2021, to a crowd of people intent to storm the Capitol building in Washington DC: “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country any more.” Lest we forget, Kneecap are artists in their late 20s and 30s. Trump was, at the time, president of the United States of America.
However, one cannot help wondering at the ethics, and stupidity, of Kneecap’s reported choice of words at a gig in November 2023: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” That’s inexcusable. Even Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called on Kneecap to “urgently clarify” these ill-judged comments. Kneecap’s subsequent apology to the families of murdered MPs Jo Cox (who was killed in June 2016) and David Amess (who was killed in October 2021) is also a speech-act, of sorts.
For philosopher Hannah Arendt, action is the essence of the human condition. Furthermore, action entails speech and speech entails action. Actions occur when we do something but, equally, action occurs via omissions when we fail to act. Paradoxically, by not doing something, we do something: severe neglect, or negligence, is the result of our failure to act. Consider what the Vatican did (not) do when faced with the evidence of sexual abuse by Catholic priests. Similarly, an omission of words is also an action. To keep silent in the face of gross injustice is to be complicit in the wrongness. We have a moral duty to speak out against human rights violations.
If there is one thing that is even worse than being silent, it’s being silenced. By accusing anyone who is questioning the current policies of the Israeli government of anti-Semitism, the Israeli government is silencing all its critics, just as it has silenced foreign journalists covering the conflict in Gaza. Kneecap are also being silenced, but not by Israel.
The fact that politicians in the UK are trying to influence who should be invited to play at festivals is pure and simple censorship. A long list of prominent musicians, including Christy Moore, have signed an open letter calling for “artistic freedom of expression” and denouncing a “concerted attempt to censor and de-platform Kneecap”. The day politicians decide what music we should hear is the day democracy dies.
Exchanging words is always better than silence. Doing something about human rights violations is better than doing nothing. Their choice of word may have been crass, misguided, irresponsible and boorish, but at least Kneecap were using their art form to create a space for politics. What is happening in Gaza today is unspeakable, which is precisely why we need to speak about it. Denouncing a genocide is doing something and it’s better than being silent. Kneecap are to be commended, not condemned – although I suggest they read Hannah Arendt on politics or Wittgenstein on philosophy of language before their next gig.
Vittorio Bufacchi is Professor of Philosophy at University College Cork. He is the author of Why Cicero Matters (2023)
