Ye, Kanye West’s previously scheduled three-night headlining appearance at the Wireless Festival in London, is becoming increasingly controversial. The festival’s sponsor, Pepsi, announced Sunday that it is walking away from its decade-long co-branding with Wireless. Although the statement did not mention the rapper by name, it came hours after Ye’s booking was condemned by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of the Wireless Festival,” the company said in a brief statement provided to several British news organizations.
The festival was officially known as “Pepsi Max Presents Wireless” as part of a partnership dating back to 2015. Although many music fans welcomed Ye’s return to the stage there, Pepsi was also tagged in angry tweets protesting the company’s apparent support of Ye as the sole headliner.
Prime Minister Starmer made it clear he was not ready to normalize Kanye West just yet, now that the hip-hop superstar is returning to business as usual touring in other countries.
“It is extremely worrying that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous anti-Semitic comments and celebration of Nazism,” Starmer said in a statement to British newspaper The Sun. “Anti-Semitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe.”
By Sunday morning, Wireless Festival Website It nevertheless advertised the booking – and continued to promote Pepsi’s sponsorship. Text on the front page reads, “Pepsi Max Presents Wireless returns to Finsbury Park 10-12 July 2026.” “The Wireless will be headlining all 3 days in 2026. 11 years later, they return to London for a three-night journey through their most iconic records.” A ticket link on the site shows sales are scheduled to begin Tuesday.
Starmer was not the first British political figure to object to Ye’s proposed appearance in London. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey expressed his view on Thursday that Ye should be banned from entering the UK, saying “we need to get tough on anti-Semitism.”
And London Mayor Sadiq Khan issued a statement on Wednesday distancing the city government from holding the festival at Finsbury Park on July 10-12. A spokesperson for the Mayor said, “We are clear that this artist’s past comments and actions are offensive and wrong, and do not reflect London’s values.” “This was a decision made by the festival organizers, not one involving City Hall.”
Concern is being raised in some circles abroad, which is being seen as the beginning of its successful comeback in America. They played two nights at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area, where they were joined by guest stars such as Lauryn Hill, Travis Scott and Don Toliver, performing atop a giant half globe in the middle of the massive venue.
Ye published a full-page apology ad in the Wall Street Journal in January, acknowledging the troubling behavior that had made him a pariah in recent years. The hip-hop titan said in the ad that he is receiving treatment for a brain condition after suffering “a four-month manic episode of psychotic, neurotic and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life” last year.
He subsequently expressed similar feelings of remorse in an interview with Vanity Fair. However, the magazine acknowledged that the quiz was conducted by email and not live, leading some to believe that an advertising consultant was writing the answers for it, with suspicions that the WSJ ad may also have been ghostwritten. You have not yet made any of these remorseful statements in any form other than written form.
It’s been less than a year since the song “Heil Hitler” was released, which was banned on all major streaming platforms. He later announced that he had “overcome anti-Semitism” and released a new version of “Heil Hitler”, now retitled “Hallelujah”, in which the references to Nazism were changed to Christian lyrics.
Some thought he might address the issues in his appearance at the SoFi Stadium, but he stuck to his winning sentiment. “That’s what 80,000 people sound like, ladies and gentlemen,” he told the crowd at his second SoFi show on Friday. “They said I’d never come back to America. Two sold-out concerts, baby!
He also told the audience, “I want to thank you all for sticking with me for so many years. In the hard times, in the bad times. I love you for that.” The SoFi Stadium show was his first significant US solo show in five years.
Ye’s three-night appearance at Wireless Festival is being billed as his first UK appearance in 11 years. Some Jewish leaders in the UK immediately criticized the booking as “grossly irresponsible”, such as the Jewish Leadership Council, which said in a statement to the Guardian, “West has repeatedly used his platform to spread anti-Semitism and pro-Nazi messages… Any venue or festival should reconsider before providing Kanye West with its platform to spread his anti-Semitism.”
Ye’s latest album, “Bully,” is expected to top the Billboard 200 chart when results are announced on Sunday.
