The BBC struggled through its latest efforts to deal with Irish hip hop group Kneecap today, choosing not to stream the group’s massively attended set at the Glastonbury Festival this weekend under worries that the band would offer up incendiary messages condemning both the British government and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. (Worries that were, admittedly justified, given that the set saw member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh—who’s being charged with a terror offense in the U.K.—and his groupmates lead the crowd in chants of “Free Palestine” and “Fuck Keir Starmer.”)
But the BBC’s decision not to stream the set (which will instead be available only in video on demand format) didn’t exactly stop such messages calling out Israel from flooding the institution’s digital airwaves. Deadline notes that Bob Vylan, the group that went on just before Kneecap—and whose set was livestreamed—also led their crowds in chants condemning the Israeli military and calling to “Free, free Palestine.” So, yeah, not a great day for BBC executives hoping to get through one of the country’s biggest festivals without getting yelled at by somebody.
On the plus side, it’s produced what we have to assume is a pretty plum gig for U.K. police officers: Being the person whose job it is to now watch these performances and figure out if anything illegal was actually said. That’s per The Independent, which reports that local police have stated on social media that they’ll be looking into statements made by both groups, and that “Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.” (No word on whether they’ll also be rating the acts on flow or vibes, or if it’ll just be the “can we prosecute them for leading a chant or waving a flag”-style stuff.)
[via Deadline]
