On Friday, August 22, Irish folk band The Mary Wallopers had their performance cut short after unfurling a Palestinian flag and leading chants of “free, free Palestine.” Video footage shows a crew member confronting the band about the flag before removing it. Moments later, as both the group and audience continued chanting, the sound was cut.
The move sparked widespread criticism, including from headliners Vampire Weekend, who used their slot the following day to call out the festival’s organizers. Frontman Ezra Koenig addressed the controversy after their opening song, telling the crowd, “If someone was punished for flying a flag, that is wrong and they deserve an apology. The terrible suffering of the Palestinian people deserves all of our sympathy.”
Several artists, including The Last Dinner Party, also withdrew from the festival in protest. In a statement posted to social media, they wrote: “We are outraged by the decision made to silence The Mary Wallopers yesterday at Victorious. As a band we cannot co-sign political censorship and will therefore be boycotting the festival today.”
Writing to NME, representatives for Victorious said:
“Although a flag was displayed on stage contrary to our policy, and this was raised with the artist’s crew, the show was not ended at this point, and it was the artist’s decision to stop the song. The decision by event management to cut the sound and end the performance was only taken after the band used a chant which is widely understood to have a discriminatory context.”
The Mary Wallopers quickly disputed this, releasing a statement alongside footage from the stage, saying, “we completely reject Victorious’ portrayal of today’s events and request that they retract their statement immediately.”
Footage of the band being cut off, along with audience reactions, can be seen here:
Cutting Mary Wallopers for wrongthink is pathetic @VictoriousFest. Absolutely shambolic. pic.twitter.com/eZ3fu8kvdf
— Deej (@WrongWingDeej) August 22, 2025
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