Banksy has responded to the Home Secretary calling his Glastonbury immigrant boat “vile and unacceptable”.
Last week, the street artist and political activist launched a new art piece in the form of an immigrant boat during IDLES‘ performance at Glastonbury 2024. The dummy-filled boat was launched into the crowd on the Other Stage last Friday (June 28), unbeknownst to the band, during their pro-immigration track ‘Danny Nedelko’.
The boat was a visual reference to the current migrant crisis, which has become the focal point of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s immigration policy. The stunt has since been slammed by Home Secretary James Cleverly, who called it “vile”.
He told Sky News: “There are a bunch of people there joking and celebrating about criminal actions which costs lives, people die. People die in the Mediterranean, they die in the Channel. This is not funny.”
Now, Banksy has addressed Homeland Security’s comments in a new Instagram post. “The Homeland Security called my Glastonbury boat ‘vile and unacceptable’ which seemed a bit over the top. The real boat I fund, the MV Louise Michael rescued 17 unaccompanied children from the central med on Monday night. As punishment, the Italian authorities have detained it – which seems vile and unacceptable to me.”
Previously, Banksy shared his own footage of the immigrant boat on social media and seemingly hit back at Cleverly on Instagram. “Using an ocean of people as the water as part of the installation. A powerful message that makes society think about what’s going on in the world. Very political,” the artist wrote.
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In a five-star review of IDLES’ Glastonbury performance, NME wrote: “Most astonishing, though, is tonight’s performance of ‘Danny Nedelko’. As ever, Talbot describes the song as a celebration of the bravery and the hard work of the immigrants who built our country’. And then something wholly unexpected (not least among the band themselves) happens. A fake life raft bearing life-jacketed dummies rears up through the audience: it bobs and weaves, lifted by countless outstretched hands that scramble to right the vessel when it upturns.
“The raft, which we later learn was designed by Banksy, drifts towards the stage and Bowen reaches out to it before he flops into the crowd – an unforgettable image from a truly incendiary show. ‘We’ll be back headline the Pyramid Stage in 2027,’ a bloodied Talbot spits before they leave the stage. You’d better believe it.”
Elsewhere, Fat White Family’s Lias Saoudi laid into IDLES frontman Joe Talbot during their show at Glastonbury.
Saoudi poked fun at IDLES’ set on the Other stage, during which Talbot also led a chant of “Fuck the King!”.
Before a rendition of ‘I Am Mark E Smith’, Saodui dryly announced: “This is a song about my feminist zeal – it’s called ‘I am Joe Talbot’”, and later acknowledged the chants at IDLES set by saying: “God save the King! Fuck off”.