BBC Under Fire: Sally Rooney’s Royalties Linked to Terror Group
The BBC is under fire for its association with Sally Rooney, who pledged to fund Palestine Action, a UK-proscribed terrorist group, with her royalties, prompting antisemitism watchdogs to demand severed ties. Rooney’s outspoken anti-Israel stance and accusations of UK censorship have intensified the debate over her actions and their implications.
The BBC is facing mounting criticism for its ties to Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who pledged to channel royalties from her BBC adaptations to Palestine Action, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the UK in July 2025. In an August 16, 2025, opinion piece in The Irish Times, Rooney condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” and vowed to use earnings from her novels’ adaptations, including Normal People and Conversations with Friends, for “supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can.” She wrote, “While protesters are labelled terrorists in the UK, Palestinian civilians are, of course, labelled terrorists by Israeli forces. But where UK protesters face trumped-up charges and prison sentences, Palestinians face violent death.” She added, “In this context I feel obliged to state once more that, like the hundreds of protesters arrested last weekend, I too support Palestine Action. If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it. My books, at least for now, are still published in Britain, and are widely available in bookshops and even supermarkets.”
Palestine Action’s ban followed a June 2025 incident where activists vandalized two military aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, causing £7 million in damages. The UK’s Terrorism Act 2000 makes supporting the group punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Over 700 supporters, including 522 at an August 9 London protest, have been arrested since the proscription, marking one of the largest single-day arrest tallies in the capital. The Campaign Against Antisemitism reported Rooney to UK counter-terrorism police, stating on X, “This goes far beyond political activism, it is a deliberate statement of intent to channel money towards a group that vandalized RAF jets and terrorized the Jewish community.” They also urged Netflix, where Normal People ranks in the UK’s top 10, and publisher Faber & Faber to sever ties with Rooney to avoid facilitating potential terrorist funding.
The BBC distanced itself, stating, “Matters relating to proscribed organizations are for the relevant authorities,” clarifying Rooney was never a staff member and her use of prior earnings is her decision. Rooney, a vocal critic of Israel, previously refused in 2021 to allow Beautiful World, Where Are You to be translated into Hebrew by an Israeli publisher, citing support for a cultural boycott. She accused the UK government of “willingly stripping its own citizens of basic rights and freedoms, including the right to express and read dissenting opinions, in order to protect its relationship with Israel.” The controversy, amplified by her Marxist views and the Gaza War escalation since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, has sparked debates over free speech and celebrity influence as well as ongoing terror support among media outlets being spread under the guise of activism.