Canada has banned rap group Kneecap from entering the country for allegedly ‘glorifying terrorist organisations’.

The trio, who were due to play four concerts in Canada next month, were accused of promoting hate and violence by the country’s Liberal government.

Kneecap have subsequently threatened Canada’s parliamentary secretary for combatting crime, Vince Gasparro, with legal action.

Mr Gasparro said in a video on X that members of the group had been deemed ineligible to enter the country because of actions and statements that violate Canadian law.

He also accused the group of amplifying political violence and publicly displaying support for terrorist organisations, including Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and Hamas in Gaza.

Mr Gasparro said: “Advocating for political violence, glorifying terrorist organisations and displaying hate symbols that directly target the Jewish community are not protected forms of expression and will not be tolerated by our government.”

Commenting on the X post, Kneecap said: “Your comments about us are wholly untrue and deeply malicious. We will not accept it.

“No member of Kneecap has been convicted of ANY crime in ANY country EVER.”

The band added: “We have today instructed our lawyers to initiate action against you. We will be relentless in defending ourselves against baseless accusations to silence our opposition to genocide being committed by Israel.

“When we beat you in court, which we will, we will donate every cent to assist some of the thousands of child amputees in Gaza.”

Canada’s immigration ministry did not immediately respond to a request for more details.

This is the latest in a series of controversial incidents involving the Belfast-based band.

During the Glastonbury Festival in June, Kneecap‘s frontman Liam Og O Hannaidh, known by his stage name Mo Chara, accused Israel of committing war crimes. Israel has denied the accusation.

Kneecap have previously said its members do not support Hamas or Hezbollah.

They added that they condemn “all attacks on civilians, always”.

In May, Mr Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence in Britain after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah during a London gig in November 2024.

He denied the allegation, saying it was thrown on stage during the performance.

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring will rule on whether he has the jurisdiction to try the case later this month.

Kneecap were scheduled to play four Canadian concerts in October, two in Toronto and two in Vancouver, according to its website.

Penn & Teller have finally been inducted into the Magic Circle – after 50 years of being denied membership.

Rock stars of magic, Penn & Teller found fame in the mid-1980s, earning them fans on both sides of the pond, but their habit of explaining their tricks to the audience also earned them magical disapproval.

The duo were famously barred from the Magic Circle for exposing their tricks as part of their act, flying in the face of the organisation’s belief in keeping magical secrets from the public.

Formed in 1905, the Magic Circle currently has around 1,750 members from around the world, all of whom have passed an exam to join.

Penn & Teller’s famous fans include the King (who is also a Magic Circle member), while their critics include Donald Trump, who’s said to have put them on his “enemies list”.

The presentation took place on Friday, on the steps of the Palladium, in London’s West End, where Penn & Teller are currently performing their 50th Anniversary residency.

Magic Circle president Marvin Berglas said: “In the past they may have been known as the bad boys of magic with their sometimes controversial and hard-hitting choice of material.

“There was criticism from some in the past for their apparently exposing magical secrets. However, for those in the know, the real magic was always with their original and artistic performances whereby audiences thought they understood how something may have been done only to be utterly amazed with an entirely different original method.

“For this – Penn and Teller are the kings. These days The Magic Circle is the place for a truly diverse group of creative minds and talented performers.”

Penn & Teller said: “We’re honoured that the Magic Circle has invited us to be members, after we’ve violated its cardinal rule – don’t give away secrets – for five decades. This is going to be fun.”

Penn & Teller first performed together in August 1975, breaking into the mainstream in the mid-1980s, and touring with critically acclaimed shows throughout the 1990s and achieving TV success in both the US and UK.

They will be performing their 50th Anniversary Tour at The London Palladium until Wednesday, 24 September.

US talk show host Stephen Colbert has condemned the cancellation of fellow late-night star Jimmy Kimmel as a “blatant assault on freedom of speech”, as America’s top late night presenters came out fighting.

He used the opening of Thursday night’s edition of his Late Show to address the pulling of Jimmy Kimmel Live over comments made about the assassination of the right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel used his show earlier this week to accuse the Trump administration and its allies of “working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk”, with the president among those to pin it on left-wing extremism.

Explainer: What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk?

The move by Disney-owned ABC has been widely criticised, with the network accused of kowtowing to President Donald Trump, who celebrated the decision.

Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Thursday, Mr Trump suggested certain networks should have their licenses revoked over a lack of support for him.

“When a late-night hosts is on network television there is a licence,” he said. “I read somewhere that the networks were 97% against me… they give me only bad publicity or press. I mean [if] they’re getting a licence. I would think maybe their licence should be taken away.”

Also airing on Thursday night, Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s Daily Show, appeared in a garish gold set, in parody of Mr Trump’s redesign of the White House, to tell viewers the episode would be “another fun, hilarious, administration-compliant show”.

Stewart, playing the role of an over-the-top, politically obsequious TV host under authoritarian rule, lavished praise on the president and satirised his criticism of US cities and his deployment of the National Guard to fight crime.

“Coming to you tonight from the real […] crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster like no-one’s ever seen before. Someone’s National Guard should invade this place, am I right?” he said.

He then introduced his guest – Maria Ressa, a journalist and author of the book How To Stand Up To A Dictator.

Over at The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon told his audience he was “not sure what was going on” but that Kimmel is “a decent funny and loving guy and I hope he comes back”.

Fallon then promised viewers that in spite of people being “worried that we won’t keep saying what we want to say or that we will be censored”, he was going to cover the president’s recent trip to the UK “just like I normally would”.

He was then replaced by a voiceover describing Mr Trump as “incredibly handsome” and “making America great again”.

Seth Meyers also joined the fray.

“Donald Trump is on his way back from a trip to the UK,” he said at the top of his show Late Night, “while back here at home, his administration is pursuing a crackdown on free speech… and completely unrelated, I just wanted to say that I have always admired and respected Mr Trump.

“I have always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, and an even better golfer.”

Kimmel’s removal from the show he has hosted for two decades led to criticism that free speech was under attack.

But speaking on his visit to Britain, Donald Trump claimed he was suspended “because he had bad ratings”.

It came after fellow late-night host Colbert saw his programme cancelled earlier this year, which fans claimed was also down to his criticism of Mr Trump, who has since railed against Kimmel, Meyers, and Fallon.

He has posted on Truth Social that they should all be cancelled.

Figures from both the worlds of entertainment and politics lined up to lament ABC’s removal of Kimmel.

Chat show doyen David Letterman said people should not be fired just because they don’t “suck up” to what he called “an authoritarian” president.

During an appearance at The Atlantic Festival 2025 in New York on Thursday night, he added: “It’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous.

“I feel bad about this, because we all see where see this is going, correct? It’s managed media.”

Former US president Barack Obama wrote on X: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating it.”