It's been alarming (albeit depressingly predictable) to see how Sharon Osbourne's call for Kneecap's visas to be revoked for anti-Israel/pro-Palestine comments made at Coachella has spiralled into a witch-hunt against the Irish trio. They've apologised for past pronouncements/errors of judgement after the press dutifully dredged up some dirt, but that's clearly not been enough - the establishment is affronted by this latest outburst and seems determined that the group should feel the full force of its wrath.
There has at least been a public counteroffensive in the form of an open letter signed by a whole host of fellow artists including Brian Eno, Mogwai, Sleaford Mods, Leftfield, Benefits, Paul Weller, Fontaines DC, Pulp, Orbital, Nadine Shah and (most notably) Tom Morello - but it looks flimsy in the face of the relentless political pressure. Several gig promoters and festival organisers have already buckled and confirmed cancellations, and Kneecap's appearance at this year's Green Man must also be under threat.
Massive Attack - also signatories to the letter - have summed up the situation perfectly in a statement: "If senior politicians can find neither the time, nor the words to condemn, say, the murder of fifteen voluntary aid workers in Gaza, or the illegal starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare, or the killing of thousands & thousands of children in the same territory, by a state in possession of the highest precision weapons on earth, how much notice should a music festival take of their moral advice on booking performing acts?"
Ultimately, this whole furore is simply a distraction from what we should really be talking about. If only Kneecap's critics expended their energy in service of the Gazan people - by acknowledging the genocide, for a start - rather than doggedly vilifying three men they knew absolutely nothing about until very recently.
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