Quite frankly, I think Massive Attack have just had enough of the bullshit.
The trip-hop icons are threatening legal action after being accused of “incitement” by Israeli influencer Hen Mazzig, who posted an 11-second clip from one of their recent live shows (stripped of all context mind you) to claim the band were encouraging fans to “sympathise with Hamas.”
The footage in question showed late Hamas figure Yahya Sinwar—killed by Israeli forces in 2024—appearing briefly as part of a broader visual collage. Mazzig claimed the moment was glorifying a man linked to the 2023 Nova Festival massacre. He further called it “more than irresponsible — it’s incitement.”
Massive Attack’s response was to lawyer up.
The band fired back on social media, calling Mazzig’s claims “defamatory,” demanding a takedown and apology, and warning that “further action will follow” if he doesn’t comply. They followed it with a lengthy statement unpacking the full intent behind the visuals. They also slammed the post as deliberate context removal for political gain.
“There is no glorification here,” the band wrote. “It’s a digital collage exploring how war, power and tragedy are framed through media. We feature a multitude of controversial figures, from Vladimir Putin to the IDF to Donald Trump, not to celebrate them, but to question and reflect.”
Sinwar’s image, they explained, was shown alongside scenes from Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus, “placing him in a tone of horrified lament.” They accused critics of cherry-picking that one frame while ignoring the entire show’s message: a raw, anti-war, anti-apartheid cry for peace and accountability.
Massive Attack have supported the Palestinian cause for decades, boycotting Israel since 1999 and calling out war crimes from their stage and in their art. At London’s LIDO Festival last week, Robert Del Naja performed beneath Palestinian flags. There he was flanked by actor Khalid Abdalla and Yasiin Bey, projecting quotes from Mandela and imprisoned leader Marwan Barghouti.
Their message hasn’t changed and they aren’t backing down. And if you come for them with cheap smears, you’d better lawyer up too.
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