Kneecap banned from advertising on London tube: “How petty can political policing and interference get?”
Kneecap have claimed they have been banned from advertising on the London tube for being “likely to cause widespread or serious offence”.
The Irish rap trio wrote on their social media accounts on Thursday (July 10) that a poster for their show at Wembley Arena on September 18 has been disallowed by Transport For London.
“We’ve been banned from advertising on the London Tube,” they wrote. “How petty can political policing and interference get…”
They said that despite adverts for their gigs, records and their film being a regular presence on the London Underground in recent years, the below image has been rejected because it is “likely to cause widespread or serious offence to reasonable members of the public on account of the product or service being advertised, the content or design of the advertisement, or by way of implication.”
We've been banned from advertising on the London Tube.
How petty can political policing and interference get…
After using the tube to advertise loads of times for gigs, records and our movie, all without issue.
The below poster has been rejected because:
"it is likely to… pic.twitter.com/jx8gnqSdkF
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) July 10, 2025
Kneecap continued: “Speak out against genocide and they’ll use every single angle they can to silence you. Join the IOF [sic], murder kids, fly to London and nothing happens – you’ll be welcomed and applauded.”
They concluded: “See it. Say it. Censored.”
NME have contacted Transport For London for comment.
Kneecap have been at the centre of a political storm in recent months. Their highly-anticipated Glastonbury set proved to be controversial, with the BBC deciding to pull their livestream coverage of it just hours before they went on. They hit out at Starmer during that set and reiterated their support for the people of Palestine. Avon and Somerset Police later said they were investigating the set, as well Bob Vylan’s, under possible criminal charges.
That investigation follows two others from London’s Met Police – one into Mo Chara allegedly shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” and displaying a Hezbollah flag on stage, for which he appeared in court and been granted unconditional bail, and the other into alleged on-stage comments in which the band said “the only good Tory is a dead Tory”, for which they will not face any further action.
The band have consistently denied supporting Hamas or Hezbollah, and say they do not incite or condone violence, describing the legal action against them as “a carnival of distraction”.
More recently, Kneecap played at Fontaines D.C.’s Finsbury Park show in London earlier this month, where they were joined by Grian Chatten for a rendition of ‘Better Way To Live’.
They also recently played in Glasgow in a re-arranged show after they were dropped from the TRNSMT line-up, and took the opportunity to hit out at Scottish First Minister John Swinney.
The post Kneecap banned from advertising on London tube: “How petty can political policing and interference get?” appeared first on NME.
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