Kneecap were among the guests on Friday night's Late Late Show - and used the platform to call for Irish people to protest about the ongoing conflict in Palestine.
The Belfast rap trio sat down with host Patrick Kielty after performing on the RTÉ chat show and it did not take long before the conversation turned to politics.
Recently, Kneecap announced they were to sue the UK government over the withdrawal of a £15,000 grant to the group. A spokesperson for the UK Business Secretary said that the withdrawal was due to a desire not to give taxpayers' money to "people that oppose the United Kingdom itself," with Kneecap claiming that the Conservative Party had been angered by their 2019 tour 'Farewell to the Union.'
That was not the only topic tackled by Kneecap on the Late Late on Friday, as they took a stand for Palestinian liberation.
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Kneecap show support for Palestine on Late Late Show
Midway through their interview with Patrick Kielty, Kneecap's DJ Provaí removed his jacket, revealing a Palestine football jersey.
In line with RTÉ's stated policy of neutrality, host Kielty said, "Our thoughts are with everybody in that conflict. Some horrific stuff is happening there. I also have to say, I'm also obliged to say that in the politics there's some people that might not agree what you've done."
Free Palestine 🇵🇸
pic.twitter.com/tPq6JxNaAe— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) February 24, 2024
Moglai Bap of the Belfast group acknowledged that RTÉ themselves had a duty to be impartial - but said that he felt that Kneecap had a duty to stand up for the rights of the Palestinian people in light of the ongoing siege by the Israeli military:
100% - but that's why we're here. We'll use our platform to highlight the genocide that's happening in Palestine at the moment.
30,000 Palestinians have been murdered by American weapons...mostly women and children.
I think we have to use this platform to appeal to Irish people to attend rallies and protests and support the BDS movement to show solidarity with Palestine and, hopefully, one day Palestine will be free.
The latest figures from Gaza's health ministry state that over 29,000 Palestinians have been killed since the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7. The intervening months have been defined by a bombardment of the Gaza Strip by the IDF.
Moglai Bap directly called for Irish people to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a Palestinian-led movement which seeks to peacefully protest against Israeli actions in Gaza by boycotting and economically sanctioning the country.
Kneecap's vocal support of Palestine comes just a week after RTÉ confirmed that members of Irish Women in Harmony had been asked to remove pro-Palestinian clothing and symbols ahead of a performance on the Late Late Show.
RTÉ said that they had asked performers not to wear symbols showing "one particular point of view," arguing that they were obliged to protect their impartiality.
As such we ask that participants do not wear badges, symbols or emblems related to one particular point of view in the absence of a forum for a representation of all views.
The Women in Harmony group performed a tribute to Sinead O’Connor.
Gaza and the conflict was not the subject of discussion or debate on this occasion.
