Dua Lipa

Photo Credit: Dua Lipa by Justin Higuchi / CC by 2.0

Dua Lipa and her talent agency respond to rumors that she fired her agent over his efforts to keep rappers Kneecap out of Glastonbury.

Dua Lipa and William Morris Endeavor (WME) deny rumors that she fired her agent, David Levy, after he signed a letter calling for pro-Palestinian rappers Kneecap to be banned from the Glastonbury Festival. According to The Daily Mail, Levy was the first to sign a letter to Glastonbury founders requesting Kneecap’s removal from this year’s festival.

A source told The Daily Mail over the weekend that Dua Lipa “made sure through her people that David Levy wasn’t working on her music anymore,” alleging her views did not align with Levy’s.

On Tuesday, Dua Lipa posted a statement on her Instagram Stories to clarify the report. “I do not condone the actions of David Levy or other music executives toward an artist speaking their truth,” she wrote. “I also cannot ignore how this has been handled in the press. Not only was the story completely false, but the language used by The Daily Mail has been deliberately inflammatory, crafted purely for clickbait, clearly designed to fuel online division.”

Meanwhile, her talent agency, WME, also released a statement denying The Daily Mail’s claims. “Reports suggesting that Dua Lipa or her management dismissed one of our agents because of his political views are categorically false,” they began.

“David Levy played a role in Dua’s early career (2016-2019) and, as is customary, is credited both internally and in industry journals as being a member of the team,” WME explained. “When he moved out of London in 2019, he transitioned into an advisory role and has not been involved in Dua’s day-to-day business since. Levy fully removed himself from the project, among others, earlier this year.”

Regardless of the aforementioned letter, Kneecap’s Glastonbury set went on as scheduled—although their performance was not livestreamed by the BBC. The performance led to a criminal investigation, but the case was dropped shortly thereafter.

Kneecap has been the subject of several waves of backlash, including an investigation by UK authorities and the group being banned from Canada ahead of their scheduled tour in October. Meanwhile, Dua Lipa is currently on the North American leg of her Radical Optimism Tour.