Why is Sharon Osbourne calling for Kneecap's visa cancellation? Coachella drama explained

A performance at Coachella 2025 has resulted in a significant controversy. Television personality Sharon Osbourne is calling for the Belfast rap group Kneecap to be banned from entering the United States.

Kneecap ended their second-weekend Coachella 2025 set with pro-Palestinian messages projected in bold letters. The messages included statements like "Israel is committing g*nocide against the Palestinian people," and "F*ck Israel, Free Palestine."

These slogans were displayed during their Friday night set (April 18, 2025) and have since been a matter of discussion among enthusiasts and netizens, with the latest being Sharon Osbourne's call for their U.S. work visas to be revoked.

After Kneecap's Coachella appearance, Sharon Osbourne recently released a detailed social media post on April 22, 2025. She criticized the group and festival organizers, Goldenvoice.

She wrote that music festivals should be places of "unity, not hate," and accused Kneecap of spreading "hate speech" and supporting t*rrorist groups. She also took aim at Goldenvoice as she questioned how the group was allowed to perform on the second weekend after their first set at Weekend 1 was already featured with politically charged messages.

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Sharon Osbourne's complete statement

Taking to her official X (formerly Twitter) page, Sharon Osbourne wrote a long post, which is as follows:

"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. At a time when the world is experiencing significant unrest, music should serve as an escape, not a stage for political discourse.

"While festivals like Coachella showcase remarkable talent from around the globe, music's primary purpose is to unite people. It should not be a venue for promoting terrorist organizations or spreading hate."

She also talked about Green Day:

"Green Day, a band I personally admire, chose to share their views on the Middle East during their Coachella performance. While I respect their right to express their opinions, such discussions would have been more appropriate at their own concert, not at a festival. 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."

Sharon continued:

"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.

"Scooter Braun, who has been involved in organizing the Nova Music Festival exhibit—a tribute to the victims of the October 7th attacks in Israel—has defended Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett as he attended the Nova Exhibit. If Tollett visited the Nova exhibit, 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.

"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 1400 innocent civilians. Furthermore, 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.

"Shame on them. As someone with both Irish Catholic on my Mothers side and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage on my Fathers side, and extensive experience in the music industry, I understand the complexities involved."

She concluded, saying:

"Goldenvoice's claim of being "blindsided" by Kneecap's performance seems implausible given the circumstances. I know for a fact that certain people in the industry had written to Goldenvoice, airing their concerns around the booking of Kneecap. I urge you to join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa."

Sharon Osbourne has both Irish Catholic and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.

During Kneecap's second-weekend Coachella set, three separate messages were displayed on the backdrop. The first accused Israel of g*nocide, the second blamed the U.S. for arming Israel, and the final screen read:

"F*ck Israel. Free Palestine."

The set was not livestreamed on Coachella's official YouTube channel.

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Also Read: What songs did Kneecap perform at Coachella 2025? Complete setlist and more explored