Leaked email urged Glastonbury to drop Kneecap — Dua, a vocal Palestine supporter, swiftly fired her manager.
Pop star Dua Lipa has reportedly fired her longtime manager, David Levy, after learning he was behind a leaked email that asked Glastonbury Festival organizers to remove pro-Palestinian rap group Kneecap from the lineup.
The dispute — revealed in a private, seemingly confidential message addressed to festival founder Michael Eavis — prompted the singer to sever professional ties with Levy, sources say.
According to The Daily Mail, the email criticized Kneecap over alleged links to Hezbollah and urged the festival to drop the act. When the message was leaked, Dua — who has been publicly vocal in her support for Palestinian rights — was reportedly furious and moved quickly to remove Levy from producing her music.
An insider told press that Dua “ensured through her representatives that David Levy was no longer producing her music,” adding that the decision followed clear differences over the manager’s stance and actions.
Dua Lipa has long been outspoken on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Last year she made headlines after calling the situation in Gaza “genocide” on social media and has appeared at related rallies in the U.K.
Her public advocacy has been notable, and sources say she was unwilling to keep a manager whose private actions undermined her public position.
Despite the controversy, Kneecap performed at Glastonbury this summer. Their appearance drew complaints and a police inquiry, but authorities later said there was insufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The group condemned the scrutiny as “political policing intimidation,” and the kerfuffle arguably brought them greater attention.
One member of Kneecap, Mo Chara, faces a separate charge related to an alleged incident in which he reportedly waved a Hezbollah flag at a previous show; that case remains pending.
Industry insiders note that Dua remains signed with WME for broader representation, but has since been assigned a new agent who sources say better aligns with her views and touring plans. The singer continues to focus on her music and live shows: her Radical Optimism world tour remains in full swing.
The tour — which launched in Singapore last November — has since taken her to major arenas worldwide and most recently included a high-energy night at Madison Square Garden, where fans cheered hits like “Don’t Start Now,” “Levitating” and deeper cuts from her catalogue.
While the management shake-up adds an unexpected subplot to Dua’s year, it hasn’t slowed her momentum. The move underscores how artists’ political stances are increasingly shaping their professional decisions behind the scenes as well as onstage.
For Dua Lipa, sources say, maintaining consistency between her public advocacy and the people handling her career was nonnegotiable — and ultimately worth the fallout.
