The BBC has sparked fury after airing footage of rapper Loyle Carner saying ‘f*** Nigel Farage‘ during a performance at Reading Festival.
A recording of the set was then uploaded to BBC iPlayer where it was dubbed ‘poignant’ and ‘uplifting’ by the corporation.
Carner – one of Sunday’s most anticipated acts – rapped the line ‘f*** Nigel Farage and free Palestine‘, which was met with cheers from the crowd.
It comes after a forced apology from the BBC last year after it livestreamed a set by punk duo Bob Vylan at Glastonbury in which the band chanted: ‘Death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)’.
In footage from Sunday, Carner dons casual clothing as he passionately raps the line before laughing and covering his mouth.
The BBC gives two warnings on the video for ‘strong’ and ‘discriminatory’ language but offers no specific comment on the reference made to Mr Farage.
It captions the clip: ‘A poignant, uplifting set from the twice-Mercury-nominated British rapper.’
Commenting on yesterday’s performance, one viewer said on X: ‘We shouldn’t be forced to pay money to this biased corporation simply because we want to watch live television. They must be forced to become an independent subscription broadcaster.’
Another added: ‘BBC captioned this performance from Reading Festival as ‘a poignant, uplifting set’ Defund the BBC.’
Loyle Carner – one of Sunday’s most anticipated acts – rapped the line ‘f*** Nigel Farage and free Palestine’, which was met with cheers from the crowd
The BBC gives two warnings on the video for ‘strong’ and ‘discriminatory’ language but offers no specific comment on the reference made to Mr Farage
In footage from Sunday, Carner dons casual clothing as he passionately raps the line before laughing and covering his mouth
Carner previously criticised the Reform UK leader on stage at Glastonbury last year.
During his performance, he said ‘Ff** Nigel Farage, man, I’m sorry’.
Carner, 31, also used his set at the festival to comment on vocal gender critical campaigner and Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
As he introduced his song Horcrux, named after a magical object in the Harry Potter books, he said: ‘This song is called Horcrux ’cause I love Harry Potter. But I don’t really like JK Rowling, do you know what I mean?’.’
Carner, whose full name is Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner, was born in Lambeth in south London and has released four studio albums – two of which have been nominated for the Mercury Prize.
He has raised awareness of issues such as male suicide and previously ran a cooking school for children with ADHD.
Carner has been a particularly vocal critic of Reform, suggesting he ‘hates Nigel Farage’ at the Brit Awards in February.
He added: ‘But for me, what feels more powerful instead of being negative all the time, which is so easy because there’s a lot of negativity around me, is to try and find ways to express some sort of hope and generosity to the people who exist like me who maybe feel marginalised or oppressed or left behind. Because there’s enough s*** – on the news that’s making me feel sad.’
Kneecap are pictured during their 2025 performance at Glastonbury. Over the weekend they used their headline slot at Reading to call Prime Minister Andy Burnham ‘a w*****’ after he ruled out a referendum on a United Ireland
In 2019 he wore a t-shirt which said ‘I Hate Boris’ during his set at Glastonbury where he told the crowd: ‘F*** that guy.’
Four years later at Glastonbury, Carner used his platform to give a speech about knife crime in the UK.
Also over the weekend, Northern Irish rappers Kneecap closed the festival – using their headline slot to call Prime Minister Andy Burnham ‘a w*****’ after he ruled out a referendum on a United Ireland.
The musicians also said ‘f*** Benjamin Netanyahu’ as a Palestinian flag was draped over their DJ deck.
Band member Mo Chara said: ‘It’s important to us that we use this platform for what we believe to be right, and some people aren’t as f***ing lucky right now, and that’s our brothers and sisters in Palestine.
‘So I just need to take some time to show some solidarity as Irish people; we understand displacement, colonialism and forced starvation of a population that we see right now in Palestine.
‘So just remember how lucky we all are to be in a field with all our best f***ing mates listening to tunes, and let’s be thinking at the same time about our Palestinian brothers and sisters, so f*** Benjamin Netanyahu, and free, free Palestine!’
The BBC said it provided ‘extensive coverage of Reading Festival across the weekend, featuring performances from a wide range of artists’.
A source added the content is in line with editorial guidelines and audience expectations.
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