Wireless Festival organiser has defended the booking of Kanye 'Ye' West for this summer’s headline slot, while more sponsors drop out of the festival, following the example set by Pepsi and Diageo. Questions remain over whether the controversial rapper will be able to enter the UK.
The Wireless Festival in the UK has come under huge pressure over the booking of Kanye ‘Ye’ West, and the backlash is intensifying.
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The controversial American rapper was announced last week as the three-night headliner of this year’s festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July – despite the musician’s past anti-Semitic remarks.
The booking has prompted widespread criticism, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said it is “deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous anti-Semitic remarks and celebration of Nazism”.
His comments were echoed by various groups and politicians, who expressed further concern and indignation at the booking of West for the festival.
London mayor Sadiq Khan criticised the booking, stating: “We are clear that the past comments and actions of this artist are offensive and wrong, and are simply not reflective of London’s values”.
A series of festival sponsors have cut their ties with Wireless as a result, including main sponsor Pepsi and drinks giant Diageo.
Sajid Javid, the former Home Secretary and current chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, praised their action.
Now both PayPal and Rockstar Energy have distanced themselves from Wireless – with PayPal no longer allowing its branding to be used on promotional material for the festival and Rockstar Energy reportedly pulling out.
As the pressure mounts for the festival to take action, Melvin Benn, the managing director of Festival Republic, which co-promotes Wireless alongside Live Nation, has issued a statement defending the headliner.
“I am a deeply committed anti-fascist and have been all my adult life,” said Benn. “I lived on a kibbutz for many months in the 1970s that was attacked on October 7th, am pro Jew and the Jewish state, while being equally committed to a Palestinian state.”
He continued: “Having had a person in my life for the last 15 years who suffers from mental illness, I have witnessed many episodes of despicable behaviour that I have had to forgive and move on from. If I wasn’t before, I have become a person of forgiveness and hope in all aspects of my life, including work.”
“What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the Prime Minister and others that have commented and – taking him at his word – to Ye now also.”
“Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country. It is available via live streams and downloads in this country without comment or vitriol from anyone and he has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country. He is intended to come in and perform. We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions.”
He concluded: “Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world and I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.”
West’s anti-Semitic remarks began in 2022, when he made a series of offensive comments on social media which ended up getting him booted off both X and Instagram. The musician was dropped by his talent agency and fashion brands like Adidas and Balenciaga also distanced themselves from West.
West went on to post a picture of KKK robes, rescind his previous apology to the Jewish community, declare himself “a Nazi” and assert that he has“dominion over his wife”.
In February 2025, West started selling swastika t-shirts, and in May, he released a song titled ‘Heil Hitler’, which praised the Nazi leader. This led him to be stripped of a visa to enter Australia and faced with immediate arrest in Brazil.
West has since apologised for his actions and took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal earlier this year in order to apologise for his past antisemitic comments, reflecting on a "four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour" and saying that he “lost touch with reality.”
Still, many questioned the timing of his apology, considering the recent release of his new album ‘Bully’, and his past comments have led to various countries banning his performances. The most recent is France, as the mayor of the southern city of Marseille, France's second-biggest city, stated he does not want West anywhere near his city.
It remains to be seen whether West will be able to enter the UK, as his right to do so is reportedly under government review.
UK Ministers have the power to ban foreign nationals from entering the country if their presence is not considered “conducive to the public good”.
Kanye West’s last UK performance was his Glastonbury headline set in 2015.
