Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap are speaking out after discovering key moments from their Coachella debut were missing from the festival’s livestream.
The politically charged group, known for their sharp-tongued activism and bold stage presence, took to social media to claim that not only was a jab at former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher cut from the broadcast, but so was their pro-Palestinian messaging.
Performing on Friday, April 11, Kneecap didn’t shy away from controversy.
In one viral moment, the group chanted, “If anybody was wondering, Margaret Thatcher’s still dead,” followed by a crowd-led singalong of “Maggie’s in a box” to the tune of KC and The Sunshine Band’s “Give It Up.”
However, fans watching from home noticed that this part of the set never made it onto the official Coachella livestream.
After NME flagged the omission, Kneecap clarified via social media that even more of their performance had been censored:
“Not the only thing that was cut – our messaging on the US-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either,” the trio wrote. “Back next Friday Coachella and it’ll be sorted.”
Interestingly, other politically charged moments from the festival were not treated the same way.
The very next night, pop-punk icons Green Day headlined and frontman Billie Joe Armstrong updated lyrics from two songs to reflect current issues.
During "American Idiot," Armstrong swapped out the line “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda” for “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda,” and during "Jesus of Suburbia," he changed a line to “Runnin’ away from pain, like the kids from Palestine.”
Reports indicate that Armstrong’s altered lyrics remained intact on the livestream.
Kneecap is set to return to the Coachella stage for the second weekend of the festival and has plans for a North American tour this October. Whether they’ll get their full message out this time remains to be seen.
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