Wireless issues statement following calls to block Kanye West from performing at festival
Backlash and criticism has increased in recent days following the announcement that Kanye West would be headlining all three days of Wireless Festival.
And now organisers have spoken out as calls for the rapper to be banned from entering the UK increase.
They refer to Ye's past antisemitic comments and references to Hitler as 'abhorrent' but ask people to 'offer some forgiveness and hope to him'.
Last year, he released a song called 'Heil Hitler' as well as advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. He has also been barred from X over antisemitism on multiple occasions.
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A number of sponsors have withdrawn from the popular music festival in recent days as backlash increased, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling the decision to book him 'deeply concerning'.
Issued this evening (6 April), a statement from Melvin Benn, Managing Director at Festival Republic reads: "I am a deeply committed anti-fascist and have been all my adult life. I lived on a kibbutz for many months in the 1970’s that was attacked on October 7th, am pro Jew and the Jewish state, while being equally committed to a Palestinian state.
"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."
The statement continues: "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.
"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."
Ye's apology letter
Earlier this year, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise, titled: “To Those I’ve Hurt.”
“I am not a Nazi or an antisemite,” it read. “I love Jewish people.
"I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did though."
In the piece, the rapper said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into ‘a four-month-long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life’.
"I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret,” he wrote.
He concluded the letter with: "I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness. I write today simply to ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home."
Sponsors pull out of Wireless Festival
Having been the main sponsor of the event, Pepsi withdrew yesterday.
The July event had been promoted under the branding ‘Pepsi presents Wireless’ but a spokesperson for the soft drinks company said: “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.”
And by the evening, it was confirmed that Diageo, owner of the Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan brands, had also withdrawn.
A spokesperson said: “We have informed the organisers of our concerns and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival.”
Earlier today, it was reported that PayPal (a payment partner for the festival) will not appear in any of its future promotional materials.
And, as reported by Far Out Magazine, Rockstar Energy is also removing its sponsorship from the Festival.
Calls to block Ye from the UK
As first reported by The Sun on Sunday, the Prime Minister said of the decision: “It is deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism.
“Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted clearly and firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe and secure.”
And there has been increasing pressuref from politicians to stop Ye from entering the UK to perform at the festival in July.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said West was ‘guilty of appalling antisemitic and pro-Nazi comments’ as he urged Mahmood to use her powers under the Immigration Act to refuse him a visa.
He said: “She says she wants to fight antisemitism. We will now find out how serious she really is.”
Labour backbencher Rachael Maskell said West ‘should not be allowed to come to our country to perform in the light of the antisemitic comments that he has made and recorded’.
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid said on X that while Ye’s ‘mental health challenges’ should be ‘met with sympathy’, the booking is ‘disgraceful’.
He added: “I’m certain the Home Secretary will want to use her powers and block Kanye West from the UK.”
The LADbible Group has contacted representatives for Ye for comment.
If you are the victim of an antisemitic incident or you have information regarding an antisemitic incident that happened to somebody else, contact the CST National Emergency Number on 0800 032 3263. In an emergency, always call 999.
Topics: Kanye West, Music, London
Jess Battison