Band vows a legal fight after Canada bars them over alleged support for Hamas and Hezbollah — Toronto and Vancouver dates now uncertain.
Irish rap trio Kneecap has been denied entry to Canada after officials concluded the band’s public statements went beyond artistic expression and amounted to support for groups Ottawa deems terrorist organisations.
Vince Gasparro, a Liberal MP and parliamentary secretary for combating crime, said the members were found ineligible to enter because of actions and statements that violate Canadian law.
“Canada stands firmly against hate speech, incitement to violence and the glorification of terrorism,” he said, adding that while political debate and free speech are vital, “open endorsements of terrorist groups are not free speech.”
Kneecap vehemently rejects the accusations. In a social media post the band called Gasparro’s remarks “wholly untrue and deeply malicious,” and said it would pursue legal action. The group framed the ban as an attempt to “silence our opposition to a genocide being committed by Israel,” and insisted that no member has ever been convicted of a crime in any country.
Kneecap says it supports the Palestinian cause but does not condone violence or endorse Hamas or Hezbollah.
The dispute has interrupted the band’s planned North American run: Kneecap was due to play shows in Toronto and Vancouver next month, but those dates are now uncertain. Canada’s immigration ministry declined to comment on the case, citing privacy.
A message to Vince Gasparro and our many fans across Canada. 👇 https://t.co/66avCapPgn pic.twitter.com/ySsrgpMs6J
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) September 19, 2025
Advocacy groups in the country reacted predictably along partisan lines — the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs praised the government’s decision as a stand against “incitement, hate and radicalisation,” and B’nai Brith called the development a “victory.”
This incident is the latest in a pattern of controversy for the Belfast-based group. Over the past year they have been dropped from several festival lineups and faced travel restrictions in multiple countries after taking a stridently pro-Palestinian stance in the wake of Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
In July Hungary imposed a three-year ban, and German festivals including Hurricane and Southside removed them from lineups. Kneecap’s April appearance at Coachella — where they accused Israel, with U.S. support, of committing genocide against Palestinians — sparked calls for U.S. officials to revoke their visas and contributed to further cancellations.
Legal trouble has also followed the band at home and abroad. In May, member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (who performs as Mo Chara) was charged in the U.K. with a terrorism-related offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London performance in November 2024; he denies the allegation, saying the flag was thrown on stage.
The case underscores an increasingly fraught debate about the line between political expression in art and actions governments view as endorsing violence.
For Kneecap, the ban in Canada is being cast as political censorship; for critics and some advocacy groups, it is a necessary step to prevent the glorification of organisations that have been designated terrorist groups since 2002.
