Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap used their Coachella platform to rail against Israel and Sharon Osbourne has now called out festival organizers for allowing the statements of anti-Israel hate speech to be shared. Osbourne penned a lengthy commentary on the matter and has received praise and a social media share from Disturbed’s David Draiman.
What Happened With Kneecap at Coachella Week 2
Kneecap played the Sonora tent both weekends of Coachella. But after week one, the band had claimed that the festival had censored their pro-Palestine messages as well as an anti-Margaret Thatcher chant during their performance.
The group had tweeted that “it’ll all be sorted” ahead of their second appearance with an emoji for the Palestinian flag.
Though the performance was not livestreamed for the second week, the audience in attendance saw the message. On a large screen behind the group, they shared their belief that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinian people and that it was being enabled by the U.S. government, before a final call to “Free Palestine” with another F-word message for Israel.
What Sharon Osbourne Said About Coachella + Kneecap’s Performance
The longtime music manager and wife of Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon weighed in on social media with a lengthy message sharing her disappointment in Coachella for providing a platform for such messaging.
“Coachella 2025 will be remembered as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity. Goldenvoice, the festival organizer, facilitated this by allowing artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression,” she stated before singling out Kneecap’s performance.
“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. This behavior raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and further shows they are booked to play in the USA,” continued Osbourne.
“Reports indicate that Goldenvoice was unaware of Kneecap’s political intentions when they were booked. However, after witnessing their performance during the first weekend, allowing them to perform again the following weekend suggests support of their rhetoric and a lack of due diligence,” she added.
Osbourne then called out two key figures. She noted that music industry honcho Scooter Braun had voiced his support for Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett, who was said to be “blindsided” by the band’s move and had actively attended the Nova Exhibit after the horrific attack by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival.
“He would have seen the portraits of every person that was killed that day and heard some of their voices on cell phone recordings, sent home to their loved ones,” said Osbourne of Tollett. “It is difficult to comprehend how if somebody saw this exhibit firsthand that they could book a band on their festival that is in support of what was done that day and supports the group responsible for this mass murder. Not one IDF solider was killed that day, just 1,400 innocent civilians.”
She concluded, “The Independent Artists Group, which represents Kneecap, includes individuals of Jewish heritage. It is disheartening that they have not used their positions to prevent the promotion of such controversial messages. As someone with both Irish Catholic on my mother’s side and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage on my father’s side, and extensive experience in the music industry, I understand the complexities involved. I urge you to join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneeecap’s work visa.”
READ MORE: Disturbed’s David Draiman Responds to Green Day’s Lyric Change at Coachella
As stated, the message received a “thank you” in the comments from Disturbed vocalist and one of Israel’s bigger advocates in the music industry, David Draiman, who re-shared Osbourne’s post on Instagram.
Last week, Draiman issued a call for a conversation with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong following the pop-punk group’s lyric change which was aimed at highlighting the plight of children in Palestine.
How Other Organizations Reacted to Kneecap’s Political Statement
Not only did Coachella earn a rebuke from Osbourne, but other Jewish groups have called out promoters Goldenvoice for the booking of the band and allowing them to present such ideology to the festival going crowd.
After the performance, Kneecap requested that young Americans send clips of the performance to President Trump.
Per the Hollywood Reporter, The Creative Community for Peace shared a statement Sunday (April 20) detailing its efforts to reach out to Goldenvoice and AEG ahead of Kneecap’s Week 2 show, supposedly urging the organizers to cancel the performance while noting the band’s support for groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
CCFP’s executive director Ari Ingel called on venues and promoters to boycott the band, and called for the group’s visas to be revoked as well.
“Festivals such as Coachella are meant to bring people together to celebrate music and life, instead they allowed the festival to devolve into a forum of hate — platforming a band that praised a terrorist group that carried out the largest massacre in music history,” Ingel said. “At a time of record levels of antisemitism, it is outrageous that AEG and Goldenvoice allowed this to happen.”
The Nova Community also issued a statement, which read, in part: “This past weekend at Coachella, the band Kneecap shared messaging that deeply hurt many in our community — an affront made even more painful in light of the massacre that took place at the Nova Music Festival on October 7. The Nova community was built on the ideals of peace, freedom, and unity through music. Our festival was a space where people came together — across cultures and beliefs — to celebrate life. That’s why we believe that even in the face of ignorance or provocation, our response must be rooted in empathy, not hate.”
They continued, “We invite the members of Kneecap to visit the Nova Exhibition and experience firsthand the stories of those who were murdered, those who survived, and those who are still being held hostage. Not to shame or silence — but to connect. To witness. To understand. … Healing begins with listening. And we believe that even those who have spoken from a place of anger or misinformation are capable of empathy — if they are willing to see.”
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