Kneecap Fire Back at Sharon Osbourne’s Rant Over Pro-Palestine Messaging: “She Should Listen to ‘War Pigs'”
A Northern Irish rap group named Kneecap is firing back at Sharon Osbourne, who recently took to social media in an outrage over the pro-Palestinian messaging they broadcast during their Coachella performance over the weekend.
In a lengthy tirade, Sharon demanded that money be taken from the group and food kept from their table by demanding their work visa be revoked as they tour the U.S. And it was all simply because she didn’t agree with their (correct) assessment of the genocide that’s happening in Gaza.
“Kneecap, an Irish rap group, took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements. Their actions included projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech, and this band openly support terrorist organizations.”
Now, Kneecap have responded to Sharon’s pro-Zionist whinging. When asked by BBC News Northern Ireland for a response, they offered a simple retort:
“Statements aren’t aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is though.”
Fucking mic drop. But that wasn’t the only time they were asked to respond. As you’d expect, plenty of media outlets reached out for comment, asking them to respond to someone as powerful in the music industry as Sharon Osbourne.
Throughout their interactions on the matter, Kneecap has maintained that they’ve been talking about the plight of Palestine “at every single gig since the band’s formation, long before October 2023, as the oppression and brutal occupation of Palestine has been ongoing for 77 years.”
In an email to Rolling Stone, Kneecap member Mo Chara replied both directly at Sharon Osbourne, as well as the ongoing situation in Palestine.
“Her rant has so many holes in it that it hardly warrants a reply but she should listen to ‘War Pigs’ that was written by Black Sabbath.”
They later argued that their performance on a stage as big as Coachella was the perfect place to share their stance on the conflict in Palestine.
“We believe we have an obligation to use our platform when we can to raise the issue of Palestine, and it was important for us to speak out at Coachella as the USA is the main funder and supplier of weapons to Israel as they commit genocide in Gaza. As I said from the stage, ‘the U.S. government could stop the genocide tomorrow.’ It’s important that young Americans hear and know it.”
In the wake of their Coachella performance, Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert told Irish media that the band have received death threats that were “too severe to get into”.
Regardless of the pushback, Kneecap has done well for itself. Recently, the band posted on social media that their entire U.S. run of dates is almost completely sold out. So it seems their message of anti-apartheid, anti-genocide, and pro-Palestinian existence at this point is getting through to people.
Never mind the fact that Sharon Osbourne’s willfully conflating Palestine and Hamas to make it seem like everyone killed in Israeli bombardments and military movements throughout Gaza was a member of the terrorist organization. You can even ignore that part of her statement where she says they’re promoting hate speech by basically saying bombing civilians is a bad thing. But when you take the totality of her statement, which you can absolutely read for yourself, it’s easy to determine that she’s just spouting off the same talking points that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cronies use to justify 18 months of collective punishment. So good on Kneecaps for standing your ground and using the concept of free speech to shine light on the devastation befalling the men, women, and children of Gaza.
The devastation that’s gone on in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 terror attacks committed by Hamas has been horrific. Though no one in their right mind should ever try to justify the murder of Israeli civilians that took place that day, it’s no stretch to call Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response one of the more brutal acts of collective punishment against a civilian population the world’s seen in a long time.
We at MetalSucks want to take the time to condemn the terrorists in Hamas and the Israeli Defense Force’s militaristic response on a civilian population in equal measure. Of course the murder of roughly 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023 is unforgivable and a response was necessary. But the killing of approximately 51,000 people (most of which are women and children) and the complete or partial destruction of more than 90% of the building in the Gaza Strip is a completely disproportionate response.
