Campaigns Co-ordinator for the Revolutionary Communists, Fiona Lali, has sparked on-air outrage after defending controversial Irish rap band Kneecap, claiming they are facing a “smear campaign” by the “out of touch media”.
The Belfast-based trio triggered calls for several of their upcoming gigs to be cancelled after being referred to the counter-terrorism police, based on resurfaced concert footage.
Among their controversies, the group claimed that the “only good Tory is a dead Tory”, and called for fans to “kill your MP”.
Discussing the band’s recent backlash, Lali told GB News that the group’s spout of cancellations is down to their “support for Palestine” at their recent Coachella Festival performance.
Bev Turner and Andrew Pierce clashed with Fiona Lali after defending controversial Irish rap group Kneecap
GB News
Lali explained: “I say that this is actually about Palestine. I think what’s happening right now is there’s a smear campaign.
“We’ve got the whole of the British establishment and the media coming down on this group, because they’ve used their platform to call for a free Palestine and to talk about how the West is complicit in the genocide that’s taking place.
“And so they’re trying to silence them, and I don’t think it’s going to work. I think it’s an example of how out of touch the media is, and how out of touch parliament is with how ordinary people think about Palestine.”
Disagreeing with Lali, GB News host Bev Turner argued that the main controversy facing the group is their remarks about “dead Tories” and “killing MPs”, and their calls to free Palestine are “secondary”.
Bev said: “The Palestine issue is secondary in a way, because the first bit of this story that came to the attention was this idea of a dead Tory.
“So surely this is about whether they would have the freedom of speech to express those sorts of violent, aggressive, hateful views rather than the Palestine issue, which seems rather secondary?”
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Kneecap often use anti-Tory symbolism in their acts and allegedly said the ‘only good Tory is a dead Tory’
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Standing firm on her argument, Lali stated that the calls to cancel Kneecap were sparked by their “free Palestine message at Coachella”, and not the resurfaced footage.
GB News host Andrew Pierce then interjected, highlighting that the group have also said “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” in other gig footage.
Refusing to accept the massacre carried out by Hamas, Lali told Andrew and Bev: “That’s what the British Government says about Hamas, and that’s for them to say.
“They support a free Palestine, and I support a free Palestine, and I would defend any oppressed people and their right to defend themselves.”
Andrew scoffed a simple “oh dear” at Lali’s remarks, to which she defended Kneecap again: “There’s very few people out there who will talk about Palestine because they get smeared like this, because they get cancelled like this. And that happens to musicians, to politicians, and it happens to ordinary people in their workplaces as well. And that’s a disgrace.
“Saying that Kneecap are somehow responsible for violence, as if kneecap have killed anyone or done anything like that – we want to think about killers – let’s go to No10, let’s go to White House, let’s talk about the real terrorists.”
Lali clashed with Bev and Andrew after claiming that the band are facing a ‘smear campaign’
GB News
Shutting down Lali’s argument, Bev hit back and claimed it is “her mistake” to assume that GB News is associated with the “out of touch media” she claims is “smearing” the band.
Bev stated: “I largely agree on you in terms of what’s going on in Gaza, I think it’s inexcusable. However, we’ve come on here and we expected to have a free speech debate with you.
“I personally think cancelling somebody that’s using language in art, which others might find offensive, is ridiculous.
“But you’ve kind of come in here with the assumption that because we are part of the media, we’re going to be like every other media, and that’s your mistake.”
Lali responded: “It’s good if you believe in free speech, I also believe in freedom of speech. I think that the way in which it is talked about in the media is incredibly hypocritical, and I think the fact that you started this by framing it as though Palestine is secondary is hypocritical. That’s what I mean when I say you’re part of the media.”
In a statement, Kneecap claimed: “Let’s be unequivocal, we do not and never have supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never OK. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history.
“We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised as if it were a call to action. To the Amess and to the Cox families, we send you our heartfelt apologies. We never intended to cause you any hurt.”
