Irish rappers Kneecap deny supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, apologize for remarks about killing politicians

Irish rappers Kneecap have denied supporting Hamas and Hezbollah and publicly apologized to the families of two murdered British lawmakers as the hip-hop trio continue to face public backlash for political views they’ve expressed at their concerts. 

“Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay,” the band said in a statement posted Monday on social media. 

Kneecap’s statement came after U.K. police said that they were investigating video related to a Kneecap concert from 2024 in which one of the band’s members appears to shout, “up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” 

Hamas and Hezbollah, both currently engaged in fighting with Israel, are designated as terrorist groups by the U.S., Israel and European Union.  

The British and Irish governments have roundly condemned the language used by the Kneecap members. 

Speaking to reporters on Monday, the Republic of Ireland’s leader Micheál Martin said that support for Hamas or Hezbollah is “unacceptable” and asked Kneecap to urgently clarify their views. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that he condemned the group’s remarks “in the strongest possible terms.” 

U.K. police also said they were reviewing video from a concert in 2023 in which one Kneecap member appears to call for killing Conservative party lawmakers, who are often known as Tories, by saying on stage: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” 

Those comments have been sharply criticized by the families of two British lawmakers who were murdered in recent years. The families of Conservative Member of Parliament David Amess, who was stabbed by an ISIS supporter in 2021, and Labour Party MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed multiple times by a neo-Nazi sympathizer, called for a public apology from the group, 

In the same statement in which the group denied supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, Kneecap addressed that criticism and said: “To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt.” 

Brendan Cox, the husband of the late Jo Cox, called the group’s statement “only half an apology.”

“It’s fine to say that you’re sorry for it, but the way that they have actually spoken about it is to suggest that it’s a conspiracy, that they have been targeted unfairly, and for me, that then doesn’t come across as unfortunately particularly genuine,” he told CBS News’ partner network BBC Radio. 

The latest controversies circling the hip-hop trio come after the group faced intense scrutiny for remarks they made while performing at Coachella earlier this month. 

Messages were displayed on a screen behind the band as it performed, including: “F**k Israel,” “Free Palestine” and “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”

Sharon Osbourne, the wife of former Black Sabbath front-man Ozzy Osbourne and a former host of the U.S. talk show The Talk, took to social media to call for the band to have their U.S. work visas revoked. 

Osborne criticized the band’s “aggressive political statements” and said that Kneecap had turned Coachella “into a Hamas fan club.”