Kneecap have launched a legal attack on Canadian MP Vince Gasparro after being barred from entering Canada.
The Irish rap trio were banned from entering Canada earlier this week, with Canadian officials saying they had “made statements that are contrary to Canadian values” that “have caused deep alarm”.
Announcing the ban on Monday (September 15), Canadian Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Combating Crime Vince Gasparro said in a video on X/Twitter that the group has “amplified political violence and publicly displayed support for terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah and Hamas.”
“These are not expressions of art or legitimate political critique,” Gasparro said. “They are dangerous endorsements of violence and hate.”
Mo Chara is currently facing terrorism charges levelled against him in May for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag on stage at a London show last November. Chara appeared in court last month, where the case was adjourned until September 26.
Kneecap have consistently denied supporting either Hamas or Hezbollah, and said that they do not incite or condone violence. They have also argued that the footage at the UK shows had been taken out of context, and described the legal action as a “carnival of distraction”.
They were due to perform in Toronto and Vancouver in October. A Jewish organisation in the country has been pushing for the government to deny them entry since June.
On behalf of the Government of Canada I am announcing that on the advice of our officials, we have deemed the group Kneecap ineligible to enter our country.
Our government will not tolerate the advocating of political violence, terrorism or Anti-Semitism and hate more broadly. pic.twitter.com/3KOf84G3bZ
— Vince Gasparro (@vgasparro) September 19, 2025
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Kneecap have now responded to Gasparro’s comments in a post on Instagram today (September 19), saying his statements are “wholly untrue and deeply malicious” and threatening legal action.
“We have today instructed our lawyers to initiate legal action against you,” the group said. “We will be relentless in defending ourselves against baseless accusations to silence our opposition to a genocide being committed by Israel.
“When we beat you in court, which we will, we will donate every cent to assist some of the thousands of child amputees in Gaza,” they added.
They also issued a message to their fans in Canada, saying, “We have played in Canada many times with zero issues and a message of solidarity and love.
“We are sorry we cannot be with you next month but we will not be silenced and will always oppose genocide. Use your voices in Canada – stand up and speak out.”
Last night (September 18), Kneecap played their biggest England gig to date at the 12,500-capacity OVO Wembley Arena.
Massive Attack and Ben Jamal introduced them to the stage, describing them as “a band who refused to be silenced for their solidarity with the Palestinian people”.
NME caught the gig and gave it a glowing five-star review, which read: “You don’t pull off a gig like that on controversy alone. You need bangers and you need a culture to fill this room. Kneecap have all that, and they’re a fucking good laugh. There’s no call for violence, there’s nothing that should land someone in front of a judge, just solidarity and a rave against the dying of the light. Just 24 hours earlier in this same room, Together For Palestine put on all-star fundraiser for the cause, the biggest of its kind.
“It’s significant like gigs like this should happen at a time like now. The state may try to crush them, but Kneecap have a power of their own. As they spit on ‘It’s Been Ages’: “Controversy won’t phase us, we hold all the cards and they’re aces, try to protect your kids but they’ll hear us.”
Kneecap have announced a live-streamed performance for fans after being forced to cancel their US tour due to the “close proximity of [their] next court hearing”. They will then head out on a 2025 UK headline tour in November. Find any remaining tickets here.
In other news, Kneecap are among Fontaines DC, Amyl & The Sniffers, and over 400 other artists to have joined the No Music For Genocide campaign, while Massive Attack, who are involved in the campaign, have committed to fully boycott Spotify.
Other artists, who are largely on independent labels, participating in the campaign include Rina Sawayama, MIKE, Primal Scream, Faye Webster, Kneecap and Japanese Breakfast. They are joined by the likes of Yaeji, King Krule, MJ Lenderman, Mannequin Pussy, Wednesday, Soccer Mommy and MØ.
To join the coalition, the artists involved have edited their own release territories or sent geo-block requests to their distributor or label. They are encouraging major label groups Sony, UMG, and Warner to follow suit, particularly as they blocked their entire catalogues from and closed operations in Russia a month into their invasion of Ukraine.
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