Amyl & The Sniffers Defend Bob Vylan, Kneecap Over Glastonbury Backlash

Yahoo

6 days ago

Amyl & The Sniffers have issued a pointed statement of solidarity with Bob Vylan and Kneecap in the wake of growing media backlash surrounding the artists' pro-Palestinian messages at Glastonbury 2025, accusing the press of misrepresenting what they say was a festival-wide stance.
Posting to Instagram Stories on Monday (July 1), the Australian punk rock band criticized the British media's 'frenzy' over select sets that included political speech, specifically targeting how coverage framed Bob Vylan and Kneecap as outliers.
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'The British media in a frenzy about Bob Vylan and Kneecap but artists all weekend at Glastonbury from pop to rock to rap to punk to DJs spoke up onstage and there were toned of flags on every streamed set,' the band wrote. 'Trying to make it look like just a couple of isolated incidents and a couple of 'bad bands' so it appears the public isn't as anti-genocide as it is, and trying to make it look like Bob and Kneecap are one-offs, instead of that the status quo has shifted majorly and that people are concerned and desperate for our governments to listen.'
They continued: 'And if you don't want politics in music don't blame the musicians, blame the politicians and journalists, and the political landscape in general, for not doing their job, and there'll be more and more of [this] until it stops.'
The statement follows Bob Vylan's controversial performance at Glastonbury, during which the punk-rap duo led chants condemning the Israeli Defense Forces. The BBC later confirmed it 'should have pulled' the livestream and did not re-air the performance. Irish rap group Kneecap, who followed Vylan on the West Holts stage, waved Palestinian flags and made their own statements during their set.
Amyl & The Sniffers — who also performed at the festival — delivered a politically charged set of their own. During a passionate moment onstage, frontwoman Amy Taylor used the platform to discuss colonization, Australia's treatment of Indigenous people, and the importance of political expression. 'They want us to shut the f–k up,' Taylor said to the crowd. 'Because if we think about Palestine, then back home in Australia, we think about the Indigenous people there… and that's disgusting.'
Their comments were met with roaring applause, and clips of the speech circulated widely online — though notably, they did not attract the same level of media criticism as Bob Vylan or Kneecap.
Glastonbury 2025 saw a significant wave of political statements from artists across genres, with Palestinian flags visible at nearly every major stage. Acts from the pop, punk, indie, and dance scenes voiced solidarity, many calling out what they see as governmental inaction and media silence on the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Amyl & The Sniffers' statement adds to the growing chorus of artists using their platforms to speak out, echoing a shift in live music where festival stages have increasingly become vehicles for protest and visibility. The band's message is clear: they stand behind artists who speak up — and won't back down from the fight for accountability and awareness.
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