Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has joined the chorus of concern over the forthcoming British appearance of Kanye West, while drinks giant Pepsi has withdrawn its sponsorship of the Wireless Festival – which the rapper is due to headline – following the booking.
The controversial American rapper who has glorified Adolf Hitler and the Nazis on multiple occasions, and blamed his behaviour on mental illness caused by an old head injury.
West, who goes by “Ye”, is due to headline all three nights at the Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park, north London, in July, marking his first performances in the UK in over a decade.
In comments first reported by the Sun on Sunday, Starmer said: “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.”
Last spring West released a song entitled Heil Hitler which contained an extract of a speech from the Nazi leader. It followed the sale on his website of T-shirts featuring a swastika.
In October 2022, in a post on X he said he was going to go “death con 3 on Jewish people [sic]” and later denied the Holocaust on a far-right talk show.
His outbursts led to him being dropped by commercial partners including Adidas.
Meanwhile, Pepsi, the main sponsor of Wireless Festival, has confirmed it has withdrawn its support for the event following the booking.
A Pepsi spokesperson told ITV News on Sunday: “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.”
In January, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise for his behaviour, including the antisemitic episodes.
The advert, which took the form of a letter to “those I have hurt”, attributed his actions to a bipolar disorder, resulting from an injury in a car accident that had only been diagnosed many years later.
In early 2025, he fell into “a four-month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life,” he said.
In that “fractured state”, he explained, “I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it…
“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. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council have both called for the cancellation of his booking at the Wireless Festival.
BoD president Phil Rosenberg said that given the current high levels of antisemitism in the UK, inviting West to perform “seems to be absolutely the wrong decision and many Jewish people will worry that that will just inflame what is already a very febrile situation”.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism commented: “The Government can ban anyone from entering the UK who is not a citizen and whose presence would ‘not be conducive to the public good’. Surely this is a clear case.”
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