CMAT has hit out at the Berlin Film Festival after heightened scrutiny saw them suggest artist should not be expected to give political commentary to journalists.
The singer – real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson – was nominated for International Artist of the Year at this year’s BRITs ceremony in Manchester, and on the red carpet, said she was “not a big fan of anyone trying to argue that art is not a political place”.
“Everything is politics. But more than ever, art is politics because you don’t get to make art in a fascist state. Fascism is on the rise in every single country in the world. It’s showing its ugly head in Ireland, it’s showing its ugly head all over the UK and don’t even get me started on America.”
Speaking to the Guardian, she criticised veteran arthouse director Wim Wenders, who was the Jury President at the Berlin International Film Festival this month, and made the divisive suggestion that cinema should “stay out of politics”.
Following significant backlash, festival head Tricia Tuttle issued a statement defending its jury, saying that artists should not be “expected to speak on every political issue” put to them.
“It’s cowardice,” CMAT said of the attempted pivot away from political statements. “And I think it is showing that these people are extremely separate from how normal people live their everyday lives.
“You know, they’ve become successful artists. Become successful musicians, film-makers, and so they have wiped their hands clean of having to do anything with the working classes or having to do anything with anyone who is oppressed in any nation because they have the luxury of doing that. And I don’t think that’s fair.”
The festival has dominated headlines in recent weeks, and an open letter was signed by 81 of its alumni – among them Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, and Brian Cox – who accused the festival of “censoring artists who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the German state’s key role in enabling it.”
As for CMAT, her latest record landed at Number Four on NME’s list of the Best Albums of 2025, with the entry saying she “cemented herself as a generational talent – one capable of investigating deep-seated Irish trauma and concocting a capitalist metaphor about Jamie Oliver within the same 50-minutes.
“At turns hilarious, devastating, rageful and proud, ‘Euro-Country’’s complexity and breadth showed the magic that can happen when an artist is given space to wholly be themselves. It helps, of course, when the artist in question is as smart a songwriter as Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson.”
‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’ also landed at Number Three on the Songs Of The Year list – check that out here.
2026 is set to be a big year for the singer, with a run of UK and Ireland dates set to be her “biggest shows ever” when they kick off this month. See all of those dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
She will also be playing a swathe of festival shows throughout the summer, including Bilbao BBK, Mad Cool, Bearded Theory, TRNSMT, End Of The Road, Øya, LIDO, Electric Picnic and Truck Festival.
A planned UK tour for October had to be cancelled due to a tooth infection that required surgery. She told NME at the Mercury Prize that month that the rescheduled dates will feature “the best music of all time played by the best-looking people of all time”.