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TV personality and music manager Sharon Osborne has called for Irish group Kneecap's U.S. work visas to be revoked after their recent Coachella set. Osborne took to her X on Monday, April 21, 2025, to criticize the band for their pro-Palestine message and the event's organizers for allowing them a stage.
Kneecap is an Irish hip hop trio composed of members Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí. They go by the stage names Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and J.J. Ó Dochartaigh, respectively. They are known for including political commentary in their music, starting with their first single, C.E.A.R.T.A. (Irish for rights).
Osborne was refering to their Coachella performace last weekend where the group displayed slogans like "F*ck Israel, Free Palestine." At one point during their performance, frontman Mo Chara compared the situation in Gaza with the Irish under British colonial rule.
"(It) will be remembered as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity"—Sharon Osbourne called out Coachella for allowing Kneecap to perform
In her X post, Sharon Osbourne, who is of Irish and Jewish heritage, began by criticizing the event and its organizers for allowing Kneecap a platform, writing:
"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."
Osborne was of the opinion that while bands have a right to express themselves, such discourse and messaging should be done at their concerts, not festivals. She continued to state the Irish group's messaging was "aggressive" and called it "hate speech." She even questioned whether the band should be allowed to perform again, claiming they "openly support(ed) terrorist organizations."
It is worth noting that several artists, including Sharon's husband, Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath, have featured political commentary in their music. Some of the band's most celebrated songs, like War Pigs (1970) and Children of the Grave (1971), were anti-war songs criticizing the Vietnam War.
During Kneecap's first performance at Coachella on April 11, the band voiced support for Palestine through on-stage messages. At the time, the event organizers cut the livestream mid-act. The band later expressed their displeasure in an X repost referencing another segment omitted from their act, writing:
"Not the only thing that was cut - our messaging on theUS-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either."
According to a report by Blunt, in response, the group brought on their own camera crew for their show last weekend. They also had political commentator Hasan Piker stream their performance on his Twitch.
Citing "insiders," The Hollywood Reporter relayed that Coachella CEO Paul Tollett felt "blindsided" by the band's actions. Elsewhere in her X post, Sharon Osbourne also questioned whether Tollett was truly blindsided, noting that "certain people in the industry had written to Goldenvoice," expressing concerns about booking Kneecap.
In a statement made to the BBC, a US State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the band's U.S. work visa.
Kneecap has not publicly commented on Sharon Osborne's X post.
