London — The rapper formerly known as Kanye West has been barred from entering the UK, where he was due to perform at the Wireless Festival in July.
This came after government officials condemned Ye’s history of anti-Semitic comments.
Festival organizers confirmed the ban and said the entire three-day festival was being canceled as a result.
Yeh’s travel authorization was blocked on the grounds that the artist’s presence in the UK would not be “conducive to the public good”, the BBC said, citing the Home Office.
Ye was booked to perform in front of approximately 150,000 revelers at the open-air festival in London’s Finsbury Park on 10–12 July.
This is a breaking news update. The AP’s previous story is below.
A senior member of the British government said on Tuesday that you should “absolutely not” Play Wireless Festival As the artist offered to meet members of the UK Jewish community and show how he has changed since sparking outrage with anti-Semitic statements.
British authorities are considering whether to ban the rapper formerly known as Kanye West Entering the UK, where they have been booked to perform in front of approximately 150,000 revelers at the open-air festival in London’s Finsbury Park on 10–12 July.
“His permission to enter the UK is being reviewed as we speak,” said Tom Wales, a spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “All options are on the table.”
Organizers are coming under increasing pressure from sponsors and politicians to cancel the rapper’s event, which has drawn widespread condemnation For making anti-Semitic comments and expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler.
Last year, he released a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. The 48-year-old apologized in January via a letter, which was published as a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal. He said his bipolar disorder threw him into a “four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.”
Wireless sponsors are Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and Diageo thrown out of celebration Since Ye was announced as the headliner, Starmer called the booking “deeply concerning”.
In a statement on Tuesday, Yeh, who changed his name in 2021, said he would be “grateful for the opportunity to meet in person, to hear from members of the Jewish community in Britain.”
“I know words aren’t enough – I have to show change through my actions,” he said. “If you’re open, I’m here.”
Phil Rosenberg, chairman of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the group would be willing to meet with the musicians if they withdrew from the festival.
Rosenberg said, “The Jewish community would like to see genuine repentance and change before believing that the appropriate place to test this sincerity is on the Wireless Festival main stage.”
Organizer Festival Republic stands with these. In a statement released on Monday, managing director Melvyn Benn urged people to offer “apology and hope” to the artist.
“We are not giving them the platform to propagate opinions of any nature, only to present songs that are currently played on radio stations and streaming platforms in our country and are heard and enjoyed by millions of people,” the statement said.
UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting dismissed the organisers’ statement as “absurd” and said Ye should “absolutely not” be performing on Wireless.
Ben admitted that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had the power to cancel Yeh’s visa to come to Britain.
“If she does it, she does it and then the issue is over,” he told the BBC on Tuesday.
A representative for Ye did not respond to a request for comment.
