Dua Lipa has hit back at what she called a “deliberately inflammatory” and “completely false” report that she fired one of her agents after he tried to stop the Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap from performing at Glastonbury.
David Levy was allegedly among the music industry figures who signed a leaked letter urging Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis to drop the pro-Palestine group from the bill of this year’s festival.
Mail Online claimed that Lipa parted ways with Levy after learning about the letter. However, the British-Albanian pop star’s agency WME has called the story “categorically false” and clarified that Levy stopped working with Lipa in 2019.
In her own statement, shared on Instagram stories on Tuesday, Lipa wrote: “I do not condone the actions of David Levy or other music executives toward an artist speaking their truth. I also cannot ignore how this has been handled in the press.
“Not only was the story completely false but the language used by the Daily Mail has been deliberately inflammatory, crafted purely for clickbait, clearly designed to fuel online division.”
She added: “It is always Free Palestine but exploiting a global tragedy in order to sell newspapers is something I find deeply troubling.”
WME said in a statement: “Reports suggesting that Dua Lipa or her management dismissed one of our agents because of his political views are categorically false.”
Acknowledging that Levy played a role in Lipa’s “early career”, the company said he had shifted to an advisory role in 2019 until earlier this year when he moved on to other projects.
Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance ultimately went ahead, with the group leading their audience in chants of “F*** Keir Starmer” after the prime minister stated that he did not think it was “appropriate” for them to play the festival.
The letter to Eavis, which was originally brought to public attention by former BBC Radio DJ Toddla T – who produced Kneecap’s 2024 album Fine Art – came after band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terror offence for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a 2024 gig.
He denies the charge and has said in interviews that the flag was thrown onstage and he picked it up without realising. He is due back in court on Friday 26 September to learn whether the charges will proceed to a trial.
Mail Online has since updated its story to reflect the statements from Lipa and WME.
Lipa has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza and condemned the UK for selling arms to Israel. In May, she condemned Israeli airstrikes on displacement camps in southern Gaza: “Burning children alive can never be justified,” she wrote on Instagram. “The whole world is mobilising to stop the Israeli genocide. Please show your solidarity with Gaza.”
Israel has repeatedly denied that it is carrying out a genocide in Gaza. A UN commission of inquiry said last week that Israel had committed genocide.
Kneecap were banned from entering Canada this week for allegedly “glorifying terrorist organisations”. The band announced in response that they will take legal action against the “wholly untrue and deeply malicious” accusations.
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