Sharon Osbourne has shared her disdain of Northern Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap and the outspoken messaging present in their recent Coachella set, going so far as to call for the revocation of their work visas.

Osbourne shared her comments on social media on Tuesday (April 22), days after Kneecap played the second weekend of the Coachella festival. The Friday (April 18) performance drew recognition for the band’s use of strong anti-Israel sentiments during their set – sentiments which they had claimed were censored during their first weekend appearance.

“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the projected messages read. “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.” 

These messages weren’t the only pro-Palestinian sentiments shared during the 2025 edition of the festival. Notably, Green Day altered lyrics to reflect the plight of Palestinian children, while names such as Bob Vylan and Blonde Redhead displayed Palestinian flags during their sets. In the case of the latter, the onstage event was soundtracked by audio of Mahmoud Khalil – the detained Columbia University graduate student currently being held in an immigration detention center following his role in on-campus protests.

However, Osbourne shared a lengthy response to the apparent politicisation of Coachella, noting that this year’s edition will be remembered “as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity.”

“Goldenvoice, the festival organizer, facilitated this by allowing artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression,” she wrote. “At a time when the world is experiencing significant unrest, music should serve as an escape, not a stage for political discourse. 

“While festivals like Coachella showcase remarkable talent from around the globe, music’s primary purpose is to unite people. It should not be a venue for promoting terrorist organizations or spreading hate.”

As Osbourne continued, she noted that despite being a fan of Saturday headliners Green Day, she felt that their own views of events in the Middle East would have been more appropriate if shared “at their own concert, not at a festival.” Kneecap’s sentiments, however, were deemed so egregious that she closed by asking supporters to join in her “advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa.”

“Kneecap, an Irish rap group, took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements,” Osbourne wrote. “Their actions included projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech, and this band openly support terrorist organizations. 

“This behavior raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and further shows they are booked to play in the USA. Reports indicate that Goldenvoice was unaware of Kneecap’s political intentions when they were booked. However, after witnessing their performance during the first weekend, allowing them to perform again the following weekend suggests support of their rhetoric and a lack of due diligence.”

In the wake of Kneecap’s performance, Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett reportedly claimed he was “blindsided” by the band’s actions. While HYBE America CEO and former talent manager Scooter Braun – who previously staged exhibits in Los Angeles and Israel about the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel – defended Tollett, Osbourne expressed disbelief that anyone who attended exhibits such as Braun’s could book an artist such as Kneecap for the festival.

“Furthermore, the Independent Artists Group, which represents Kneecap, includes individuals of Jewish heritage,” she continued. “It is disheartening that they have not used their positions to prevent the promotion of such controversial messages. Shame on them. 

“As someone with both Irish Catholic on my Mothers side and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage on my Fathers side, and extensive experience in the music industry, I understand the complexities involved,” she added. “Goldenvoice’s claim of being ‘blindsided’ by Kneecap’s performance seems implausible given the circumstances. I know for a fact that certain people in the industry had written to Goldenvoice, airing their concerns around the booking of Kneecap.”

For their part, Kneecap have not responded directly to the criticism of their messaging, instead sharing examples of the myriad supportive messages they have received in the wake of their Coachella sets. The group will return to North America in October for another run of live dates.

It all started last week when Drake collaborator Gordo tweeted out that Mustard unfollowed him on Instagram. “Oh, my God. Just noticed Mustard unfollowed me on IG,” he wrote on X. “Sad day…headlining [Coachella] must of got to his head.”

Mustard caught wind of the post and responded in kind, saying, “Ain’t going back and forth with a n—a that’s happy to change music on another n—a’s toilet seats,” he tweeted. “Let’s just end it here: I’m richer than you and have more hits than you. I have multiple houses with my own toilet seats and many of my own chains to wear.”

He added, “The guy wants attention. Keep slaving at those overseas shows, brother. Don’t forget to buckle dude’s pants after you done,” he wrote, before mocking Gordo’s chain picture.

Drake’s “Sticky” producer then responded by saying that Kendrick Lamar didn’t bother to drive out to support Mustard’s Coachella set. “Imagine devoting your entire Coachella set to a guy that wouldn’t drive an hour to pop out for you.”

Earlier this month, Gordo tweeted that he apparently changed the music on a couple of Drake’s toilets up at the Embassy (his mansion) in Toronto. “When you use the bathroom at Drake’s house usually the toilet will play 2Pac,” he said. “But today I changed one toilet to play ‘Healing’ and the other one to play ‘Sideways.’”

Gordo also tweeted a picture of himself wearing Drake’s recently purchased N.E.R.D chain that was once owned by Pharrell and Kid Cudi, saying that he found it in Drake’s kitchen and that he’s “100 percent taking it.”

Roy Thomas Baker — the producer behind some of rock’s biggest hits, including Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” — has died at age 78, his family announced Tuesday (April 22).

Baker died at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, on April 12. No cause of death has been revealed.

The producer’s credits feature a who’s who of rock stars over the past half-century, including Journey, Yes, Foreigner, The Cars, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Devo, Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses and Smashing Pumpkins. Baker worked with Queen on five of the band’s 1970s albums, including on their bombastic A Night at the Opera lead single “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which is reportedly the most-streamed song recorded in the 20th century. The 1975 single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1976 but didn’t hit its No. 2 peak on the chart until its inclusion in the film Wayne’s World in 1992.

Born in Hampstead, London, in 1946, Baker’s career began as second engineer to Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti at London’s Decca Records. He graduated to chief engineer in the ’70s and moved to Trident Studios to begin working with the then-unknown Queen. Columbia Records later asked him to relocate to the U.S. to work with Journey and others.

“We did [1978 album] Infinity with the infamous Roy Thomas Baker,” recalled Journey’s Neal Schon, “and we did so many different things on that record that I’d never tried, or even thought about doing. I learned a lot from Roy.”

Elektra Records, Queen’s U.S. label, connected Baker with Lindsey Buckingham, Dokken and The Cars — for whom he produced their first four albums, from 1978 to 1981.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” and The Cars have both been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry, two of the most prestigious honors for classic recordings. In addition, Queen’s A Night at the Opera album, which houses “Bohemian Rhapsody,” was separately inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Baker is survived by his wife, Tere Livrano Baker, and his brother, Alan Baker.

Lil Uzi Vert was reportedly hospitalized in New York City on Monday (April 21) after falling ill at a Manhattan hotel.

Billboard has reached out to the rapper’s reps for confirmation.

According to TMZ, paramedics responded to a call for Uzi — who identifies as nonbinary — during the afternoon and transported them to a local hospital for treatment.

TMZ released footage from an eyewitness video showing someone who appears to be Uzi being wheeled into an ambulance around 2:30 p.m. ET. Along with City Girls rapper JT, Uzi’s girlfriend, security also accompanied the rapper and held up black umbrellas in an attempt to protect their identity.

Details of Lil Uzi Vert’s condition are not known at this time.

On the music side, the 29-year-old has laid low for much of 2025. They have yet to put out a single, but hopped on Skrilla’s “Walking Dead” in February.

Lil Uzi returned in 2024 with their Eternal Atake 2 sequel, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 59,000 album-equivalent units earned in the opening tracking week.

Earlier in February, Uzi made headlines by jabbing at Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, which saw the rapper flex that their “diamonds are better lil big bro.” The post to their Instagram Story was accompanied by a photo of Hurts, but the Eagles QB has yet to respond to Uzi.

Australian musician and director Kimble Rendall has passed away at the age of 67, it has been confirmed.

Rendall’s passing was officially announced on Sunday (April 20) by publicist and friend Melissa Hoyer, who described the late figure as a “musician, advertising guru, film director, husband, devoted dad & a very good friend to many.”

“One of the very, very good men – Kimble was married to the ‘first lady of music television’, the late Basia Bonkowski & carved out a huge reputation in music (he was in the XL Capris & the Hoodoo Gurus); a leading figure in the advertising world (what award didn’t he win?) and went onto became a mega successful film director,” Hoyer wrote.

“Thank you for being in our lives Kimble. You were a compassionate, constantly creative, funny, clever & perennially entertaining one-off … & the time had come to join your beloved Basia.”

Rendall was born in Sydney in 1957, and showed interest in the world of films at a young age. Completing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Mass Media, he later trained as a film editor with the Australian Broadcasting Commission. 

In 1978, Rendall co-founded the Sydney punk outfit XL Capris alongside Tim Gooding, Johanna Pigott, and Julie Anderson. Their debut single, a cover of Tommy Leonetti’s “My City of Sydney,” was released the following year and has since become regarded as an influential snapshot of Australia’s then-burgeoning punk scene.

Rendall would depart XL Capris in 1980 and co-founded the Hoodoo Gurus alongside guitarist and vocalist Dave Faulkner, guitarist Roddy Radalj, and drummer James Baker the following year. While Rendall and Radalj would depart the group in 1982 before the release of 1984’s Stoneage Romeos debut, they would appear on the band’s debut single, “Leilani,” for which Rendall also directed the music video.

The Hoodoo Gurus would later top the Alternative Airplay chart in 1989 with “Come Anytime,” and hit No. 3 in 1991 with “Miss Freelove ’69.” In 2007, they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in their native Australia. On February 1 of this year, Rendall reunited with his former bandmates in Brisbane to join them for a performance of “Hoodoo You Love” as part of their Back to the Stoneage Tour.

After departing the Hoodoo Gurus, Rendall concentrated on his directorial career, producing music videos for groups such as Cold Chisel, Mental As Anything, Paul Kelly, and Johnny Diesel & The Injectors. In 1987, he would be nominated for best video at the ARIA Award for his work on Boom Crash Opera’s “Hands Up in the Air.”

Elsewhere in his career, Rendall would also work on a number of high-budget films as a second unit director, working on titles such as The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions; I, Robot; and the Nicolas Cage films Ghost Rider and Knowing.

Rendall was also married to television presenter Basia Bonkowski from 1982 until her passing in 2022. Alongside presenting numerous music-based television programs, Bonkowski was also immortalized by Melbourne band Painters and Dockers, whose 1985 debut single “Basia!” was named in her honor. Together, they adopted two children, William and Camille.

News of Rendall’s death comes only days after the Hoodoo Gurus were also affected by the passing of their manager, Dominic “Mick” Mazzone OAM. Mazzone’s promotion to the top job came after longtime manager Michael McMartin stepped down from the role in February 2024, ultimately passing the following month.