Toddla T calls out "backdoor pressure" to remove Kneecap from Glastonbury 2025 line-up

Toddla T has called out "backdoor pressure" to remove Kneecap from the line-up of Glastonbury 2025.

In a statement shared via Instagram last week (June 11), the former BBC Radio 1 DJ and producer of Kneecap's 2024 album 'Fine Art' alleged that a "'private and confidential' letter was recently sent to the bookers of Glastonbury Festival, urging them to remove Kneecap from the line-up."

Toddla T, AKA Thomas Mackenzie Bell, claimed that the letter had been sent by "a very systemically powerful music agent" and signed by "30 individuals from within the music industry'.

"What we're seeing is a coordinated attempt by 30 members of the musical elite, people with systemic influence, to silence the voices of three working-class artists from Belfast," he adds. "And all of it was done behind closed doors."

Read this next: UK government leaders call for Kneecap to be removed from festival line-ups

Kneecap are set to perform on the West Holts Stage on Saturday (June 28). There have been various calls from politicians and other public figures to remove the Irish rap trio from the festival's line-up since April, when two clips of the group performing in 2023 and 2024 respectively resurfaced online.

One clip from a performance at the Kentish Town O2, London, in November 2024 that allegedly showed a member of the trio shouting: "Up Hamas, up Hezbollah”, was investigated by the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit.

Last month, Mo Chara - AKA Liam Ó hAnnaidh - was charged under the Terror Act, accused of flying a Hezbollah flag in the same clip. Hezbollah is a banned terrorism organisaton in the UK. Chara is set to appear in court tomorrow (June 18).

Read this next: Annie Mac, BICEP and Primal Scream sign open letter in support of Kneecap

"If those individuals truly believe Kneecap shouldn't perform, why not say so publicly?" Toddla T adds in his statement. "Why wasn't the letter open and transparent?".

Bell compares the alleged letter to the open letter he signed alongside wife Annie Mac, Massive Attack, BICEP and 100 other artists in support of Kneecap last month: "We stand by our views. If the others do too, they should be just as willing to stand behind theirs publicly."

"What this private letter represents to me is yet another example of how power structures, cultural, governmental, and media, continue to favour and shield the actions of the Israeli state," Toddla T continues. "From Gary Lineker's experience to smaller, quieter forms of silencing, we see this suppression taking place across society, including in my own industry."

You can read Toddla T's full statement below.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter