Johnny Marr has expressed his support for Kneecap playing Glastonbury 2025, condemning calls for their performance at the festival to be censored.
The statements come amid controversy surrounding the Irish rap trio – both for their Coachella set in April which left festival organisers “blindsided”, and for resurfaced footage of 2024 concerts, which allegedly saw them display a flag in support of the proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah.
The latter saw Kneecap member Mo Chara charged by the Metropolitan Police with a terror offence, and numerous live shows cancelled. He is set to appear in court on Wednesday (June 18).
Kneecap have consistently denied supporting either Hamas or Hezbollah, adding that they do not incite or condone violence. They have also argued that the footage at the UK shows had been taken out of context, and described the legal action as a “carnival of distraction”.
The band used their headline set at London’s Wide Awake festival last further to further echo their support for Palestine, and speak out against efforts to shut the band down ahead of their Glastonbury appearance.
On Jun 12, campaign Love Music Hate Racism expressed their support for the group, saying via social media statement: “Anyone trying to silence them, or get them pulled from shows, is on the wrong side of history”. They continued: “We call on all to stand with Kneecap and defend Mo Chara on 18 June outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London”.
Today (June 16), The Smiths legend Marr took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to post his support for the group. “After learning that calls have been made for Kneecap to be censored during their Glastonbury set, I think it’s important that I make my own position clear” he wrote. “I’ve played Glastonbury many times and the festival has always had a political aspect”.
“It was founded as a place of free expression and political activism and it’s a fact that I agreed to play there with The Smiths in 1984 purely because to do so at the time was a political act. We are living through very troubling times, but for anyone who’s been interested in me or my music over the last 40 years, I feel like my political stance has always been very clear”.
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) June 16, 2025
Johnny Marr concluded: “Oppression fears artistic expression. I respect all musicians who use their platform to speak out against injustice, who promote compassion and equality and give voice to the voiceless. I stand with my audience and fellow musicians who call for an immediate end to the atrocities and a free Palestine”.
The musician joins Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten, who recently claimed that the terror charge brought against Mo Chara was “a witch hunt”.