Fourth company distances itself from festival over Kanye West as calls grow to ban him from the UK
A fourth sponsor has distanced itself from London's Wireless festival over its decision to have Kanye West headline this summer.
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The rapper, who has been condemned for antisemitism, is set to top the bill for all three nights of the festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July.
Sir Keir Starmer has criticised the decision as “deeply concerning”, while major sponsors have withdrawn their support for the festival over the booking.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has now faced calls from politicians and the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) to ban West from coming to the UK, arguing his presence would not be “conducive to the public good”.
A number of sponsors have split from Wireless over the decision to platform Kanye, who also goes by Ye.
Pepsi and Diageo withdrew their sponsorship of the festival after West was announced as the headline act but the brands remain prominently displayed as sponsors on Wireless Festival’s official website.
Additionally, PayPal, which is a payment partner for the annual rap and hip-hop festival, will not appear in any of its future promotional materials and drinks brand Rockster has also stepped away.
West, who has not performed in the UK since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015, has drawn widespread criticism in recent years after he began voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler, and has made a series of antisemitic remarks.
Last year, he released a song called Heil Hitler, a few months after advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website.
He has since apologised, blaming the comments on a manic episode caused by his bipolar disorder.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said West was “guilty of appalling antisemitic and pro-Nazi comments” as he urged Ms 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.”
In a post on X, the CAA said the Prime Minister had been right to express concern about Wireless’s decision to book West, but added Sir Keir was “not a bystander”.
They said: “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.”
Labour backbencher Rachael Maskell has also called for West to be banned, saying he “should not be allowed to come to our country to perform in the light of the antisemitic comments that he has made and recorded”.
In January, 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 said.
“I love Jewish people.”
In his letter, he 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”.
Wireless Festival has been contacted for comment.