Belfast hip hop group Kneecap celebrated their controversial Glastonbury performance by partying with Northern Irish actor Jamie Dornan yesterday evening.
The trio shared a photograph on Instagram Stories showing them relaxing with the Fifty Shades of Grey star after their set at the West Holts Stage.
The 43-year-old actor, who was named one of Ireland’s greatest film actors by The Irish Times in 2020, was pictured holding a can during the post-performance festivities.
The band appeared in high spirits despite the political controversy surrounding their appearance at the Somerset festival.
During their performance, band member Mo Chara (Liam Og O hAnnaidh) wore a keffiyeh whilst DJ Provai (JJ O Dochartaigh) donned his signature tri-coloured balaclava and a T-shirt reading “We are all Palestine Action”.
This comes as the campaign group Palestine Action will be proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government after they claimed responsibility for breaking into RAF Brize Norton and spraying red paint into the engines of two military aircraft.
The rap trio explicitly rejected criticism from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, with Moglai Bap (Naoise O Caireallain)declaring: “The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.”
He thanked the Eavis family, saying “they stood strong” against pressure to remove the band from the lineup. The group opened with “Better Way To Live” from their 2024 album Fine Art.
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Given the controversy surrounding Kneecap’s set, Dornan came under heavy criticism for deciding to party with the band members afterwards.
In response to a Belfast Telegraph article sharing news of the snap, criticism towards the actor soon flooded in.
“Jamie Dornan is obviously not very bright… he’ll regret that getting out,” one X user typed before a second echoed: “Disgraceful.”
A third claimed: “His career was already hanging by a thread, but I would say that the support of this questionable band will finish him off.”
“Uh Oh not a good look Jamie son,” added a fourth before a fifth fumed: “Another useful idiot!!” (sic)
However, the actor also received plenty of support from Kneecap fans who flooded the web with their reposts of the image alongside green love-heart emojis.
Multiple politicians had called for Kneecap to be removed from the festival lineup, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stating their performance would not be “appropriate”.
The BBC confirmed they would not livestream the set, though indicated it would likely be available on-demand later.
Access to the West Holts Stage area was closed approximately 45 minutes before their performance as crowds of fans arrived carrying Irish and Palestinian flags.
News broadcasts criticising the hip hop trio that played from the sound system before they took the stage were met with boos from the Glastonbury audience.
Mo Chara faces terrorism charges for allegedly displaying a flag supporting proscribed organisation Hezbollah whilst chanting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” at a gig in November last year.
The 27-year-old rapper appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18, where he was cheered by hundreds of supporters wearing “Free Mo Chara” T-shirts.
He arrived alongside bandmates O Caireallain and O Dochartaigh and was released on unconditional bail. His next court hearing is scheduled for August 20 at the same court.
A separate investigation into the group was reported today to have been dropped.
Counter-terror police confirmed to The Spectator that they will not be charging Kneecap after videos emerged of them calling for the death of British MPs and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.