Brit Awards 2026: Geese Star Max Bassin Censored During Political Speech

The award-winning musician spoke out against ICE and in support of Palestine on stage during Saturday night's Brits.

It’s fair to say that the censors had plenty to keep them busy during this year’s Brit Awards.

Saturday night’s Brits broadcast saw the sound being pulled on numerous occasions due to a variety of comments that were made over the course of the event.

One such moment came during musician Max Bassin’s acceptance speech, after he accepted the International Group Of The Year prize on behalf of his band Geese.

Choosing to keep things short, he began his speech by stating simply: “What’s up, ‘the Brits’? I just want to say, free Palestine…”

However, after Max said the word “free”, the audio was pulled, resulting in the rest of what he had to say being cut from broadcast.

It later emerged that Max concluded his speech: “Fuck ICE, go Geese.”

ITV censors Max Bassin of Geese after saying “Free Palestine” #Brits2026 pic.twitter.com/iPV4kGGPeK— Deadline (@DEADLINE) February 28, 2026

ITV censors Max Bassin of Geese after saying “Free Palestine” #Brits2026 pic.twitter.com/iPV4kGGPeK

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Many Brits viewers were quick to voice their upset at what appeared to be ITV censoring Max’s politically-charged speech right as the drummer was about to speak out in solidarity with Palestine.

ITV bleeped out Geese’s speech saying Free Palestine😒😒— James (@jamesIipa) February 28, 2026

ITV bleeped out Geese’s speech saying Free Palestine😒😒

seeing ITV censor Geese saying free Palestine in real time feels so gross and dystopian— brodie / knox (@brodiecantskate) February 28, 2026

seeing ITV censor Geese saying free Palestine in real time feels so gross and dystopian

ITV quick to mute Geese saying Free Palestine— J (@jowiox) February 28, 2026

ITV quick to mute Geese saying Free Palestine

itv muting geese saying “free palestine” embarrassing !!— paige (@SSN0WGL0BE) February 28, 2026

itv muting geese saying “free palestine” embarrassing !!

itv blanking out geese saying free palestine im sooo tired of the censorship in this wretched country my god— bec ☄️ (@lokiislit) February 28, 2026

itv blanking out geese saying free palestine im sooo tired of the censorship in this wretched country my god

However, in response to this backlash, the broadcaster has indicated to HuffPost UK that Max’s speech was censored due to his language after his pro-Palestine message – in other words, his use of the word “fuck” – rather than because of his political statements.

Earlier in the night, the Brits also pulled the sound when Jack Whitehall made a seemingly unscripted joke about Peter Mandelson, after spotting Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Labour minister Lisa Nandy in the awards show’s audience.

“I wonder who else is here,” he quipped. “I think I saw Peter Mandelson on the list. Oh wait, that was another list…”

Check out our round up of all the must-see moments from the 2026 Brit Awards ceremony here.

© HuffPost