UK rapper Skepta responds to resurfaced 'Israel' photo: “I was young and naive”

• The UK rapper says he was "young and naive" when a 2007 photo showed him posing with an ‘Israeli’ flag.
• Skepta says the image was intended to hype fans and was not a political statement.

UK rapper Skepta has addressed a resurfaced 2007 photograph showing him posing with an ‘Israeli’ flag.

The image was taken after Skepta's first performance in Tel Aviv and recently circulated online, prompting the rapper to respond directly on X.

Keep seeing this pop-up on my timeline kmt I was young and naive. First ever show in Tel Aviv and thought I’d gas up my fans with this picture but this picture is not a political statement in anyway  https://t.co/3dh1ohXlmT

— Big Smoke - (@Skepta) August 15, 2026

Skepta said he was "young and naive" at the time and explained that he posed with the flag to hype up his fans. He stressed that the photograph did not represent a "political statement in any way."

The rapper has faced criticism over his associations and public statements involving ‘Israel’ and Palestine.

In 2024, Skepta came under fire over his partnership with Puma, which has sponsorship ties to the ‘Israeli’ football association. He later said he would conduct greater due diligence in the future and learn from the controversy.

That same year, Skepta withdrew the artwork for his track "Gas Me Up (Diligent)" after critics said the image evoked photographs from Holocaust-era concentration camps. He apologized and said the artwork was intended to reference his parents' migration to the UK. The artwork currently appears as an "Image not found" placeholder on Spotify.

A 2021 Instagram story attributed to Skepta has also circulated online. The image appears to show the rapper responding to a "tell me something good" prompt with a message expressing support for Palestinian freedom.

Fans have shared the image as evidence that Skepta's views have changed since the 2007 photograph. However, the image could not be independently verified.