{"id":53482,"date":"2025-04-27T01:01:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T01:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/53482\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T01:01:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T01:01:09","slug":"kneecap-in-process-of-securing-new-us-visa-sponsor-ahead-of-north-america-tour-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/53482\/","title":{"rendered":"Kneecap in process of securing new US visa sponsor ahead of North America tour \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rap trio Kneecap<\/a> are in the process of securing a new sponsor for renewed US<\/a> visas ahead of its sell-out October tour in North America.<\/p>\n

The visas held by the band members are understood to no longer be valid after being dropped by their now-former sponsor and booking agent Independent Artist Group (IAG), as first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n

That move came after Kneecap faced criticism in the US<\/a> over the group\u2019s recent performance during the major music festival Coachella, held in California.<\/p>\n

The Belfast group has been outspoken in support for Palestine<\/a> and criticism of Israel\u2019s<\/a> military actions<\/a> in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At Coachella, Kneecap displayed messages which read: \u201cIsrael is committing genocide against the Palestinian people\u201d, \u201cIt is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes\u201d and \u201cF*** Israel. Free Palestine\u201d.<\/p>\n

The trio\u2019s US performances are permitted under work visas granted to its members under sponsorship of approved organisations \u2013 such as IAG or other booking agents and industry companies.<\/p>\n

According to PA news agency, it is understood the visas for members of Kneecap, which are now no longer valid due to IAG pulling out, were due to expire over the summer months between Coachella and the band\u2019s next US appearances.<\/p>\n

It is also understood the members of Kneecap are not currently in the US and do not have gigs scheduled there until the tour in October, which falls after the group would have to reapply for an annual permit.<\/p>\n

The performers are entitled to apply for a new visa and are aiming to do so under a different sponsor ahead of their sell-out tour in the US and Canada.<\/p>\n

It is also understood that none of the tour dates have been impacted or cancelled, with all performances still scheduled.<\/p>\n

Following the Coachella performance, former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne called for their US work visas to be revoked.<\/p>\n

The Creative Community for Peace, a group that works to counter anti-Israel sentiment in the entertainment industry, also heavily criticised the performance.<\/p>\n

In social media posts, the band alleged it had \u201cfaced a co-ordinated smear campaign\u201d, saying that their shows have previously \u201ccalled out\u201d the conflict in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recent attacks against us, largely emanating from the US, are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods,\u201d Kneecap added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are taking action against several of these malicious efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cLet us be absolutely clear. The reason Kneecap is being targeted is simple \u2013 we are telling the truth, and our audience is growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter. They weaponise false accusations of anti-Semitism to distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kneecap\u2019s manager Daniel Lambert also said the band had received \u201csevere\u201d death threats.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Osbourne called the images at Coachella \u201cprojections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech\u201d.<\/p>\n

The music manager and wife of Black Sabbath star Ozzy Osbourne wrote on X: \u201cAs someone of both Irish Catholic on my mother\u2019s side and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage on her father\u2019s side and extensive experience in the music industry, I understand the complexities involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI urge you to join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneecap\u2019s work visa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kneecap, made up of Mo Chara<\/a> (Liam \u00d3g \u00d3 Hannaidh), M\u00f3gla\u00ed Bap<\/a> (Naoise \u00d3 Caireall\u00e1in) and DJ Pr\u00f3va\u00ed<\/a> (JJ \u00d3 Dochartaigh), added that \u201cthere are massive numbers of Jewish people outraged by this genocide just as we are\u201d, and said they \u201cwill not stay silent\u201d on Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe young people at our gigs see through the lies. They stand on the side of humanity and justice, and that gives us great hope,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The trio, who perform in Irish and English, received support on the post from US rapper Macklemore, American-Irish comedian Des Bishop, Love Island star Matthew MacNabb and US singer Carsie Blanton. \u2013 PA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rap trio Kneecap are in the process of securing a new sponsor for renewed US visas ahead of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[28540,77,10982,837,20418,28538,28539,28541,12759,16,15,978],"class_list":{"0":"post-53482","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-dj-provai","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-gaza-strip","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-israel-hamas-conflict","13":"tag-kneecap","14":"tag-mo-chara","15":"tag-moglai-bap","16":"tag-sharon-osbourne","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114407229511076920","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}