RTÉ defends telling rappers Kneecap to remove pro-Palestinian symbols on Late Late Show

Rap trio Kneecap were told to remove pro-Palestinian badges ahead of their appearance on the Late Late Show, a spokesperson for RTÉ has confirmed.

The bilingual Belfast group performed on Friday’s episode of the Late Late Show and during an interview afterwards, one of the trio, DJ Provaí took off his jacket to reveal a Palestinian jersey.

It came after RTÉ had asked musicians from the Irish Women in Harmony group not to wear pro-Palestinian clothing on last week’s Late Late Show.

A spokesperson for RTÉ has now confirmed that Kneecap were asked to remove the badges before their appearance and failing to do so would result in the appearance not proceeding.

In a statement, the spokesperson said that Kneecap’s manager told the show’s producers that the band would be wearing pro-Palestine badges.

“The Late Late Show producers asked for the badges to be removed in accordance with the RTÉ Journalism and Content Guidelines and explained the guidelines to Kneecap’s management,” a spokesperson for RTÉ said.

“The producers were clear that, while it would have been a disappointment, Kneecap’s performance could not proceed if they wore the badges.

“After discussions with Kneecap’s management, they agreed that the badges would not be worn,” the spokesperson added.

The statement said that the RTÉ Journalism and Content Guidelines that were applied to the Irish Women in Harmony appearance and the appearance of Kneecap were the same.

However, during the sit-down interview with host Patrick Kielty, DJ Provaí revealed the Palestinian jersey and the group appealed to the Irish public to attend marches in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

After DJ Provaí took off his jacket, Kielty responded by saying: “I’m obliged to say this that our thoughts are with everybody in that conflict. Some horrific stuff is happening there.”

“I’m also obliged to say that in the politics there is another side to it and some people mightn’t agree with what you’ve done,” Kielty added.

Another member of the trio, Móglaí Bap replied and said they would use their platform to highlight the situation in Palestine.

“100pc, but that’s why we are here to highlight the genocide that is happening in Palestine at the moment,” Móglaí Bap said.

The RTÉ statement said that that with live television, there is a “risk of unplanned programming”.

“Given the nature of live television, there always remains a risk of unplanned programming,” the broadcaster said.

“However, our team of editorial professionals acted in full compliance with the RTÉ Journalism and Content Guidelines and adapted the filming and took appropriate action whereby the host provided context and balance to the discussion.”

The band said they will continue to use their platform to highlight a war in which Israel has killed close to 30,000 Gazans using “American weapons”.

On controversy surrounding the band, Móglaí Bap said: “At the start we used to get some Facebook death threats from the South Antrim UDA but also from the dissidents – so I think that really sums up where we stand in terms of our art.”

They spoke about what people from nationalist and unionist communities share in common.

Mo Chara said: “We get painted because people like to be outraged, especially in the north. We’ve always said we’ve more in common with working class people in Belfast, on whatever side of the divide, than rich people in Dublin even though we share a passport.

“So people want to be outraged without actually looking into the facts. The workers’ revolution is the way forward.”

They spoke of “bringing people together rather than dividing” and shared a story about meeting young people on Sandy Row who sang the chorus to their song C.E.A.R.T.A., saying there was a “lot of laughter and a lot of craic”.

Last week, the Irish Women in Harmony group performed a tribute to Sinéad O’Connor. Before they went on stage a group member was asked to change out of a T-shirt which featured the word Gaza and a love heart, while others were asked to remove badges expressing support for Palestinians.

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