Wireless Festival boss facing calls to rescind Kanye West booking over rapper's 'abhorrent' antisemitic comments

West, also known as Ye, is set to top the bill for all three nights of the festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July despite releasing a song titled 'Heil Hitler' just last year.

Sponsors have pulled their support from the festival in response to the booking, with the Board of Deputies for British Jews accusing Festival Republic and Mr Benn of "profiteering from racism".

Benn, Festival Republic managing director, issued a statement on Monday night asking the public to accept Ye's apology for his history of antisemitism.

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.

He also sold merchandise featuring the Nazi swastika on his website.

Read More: Fourth company distances itself from festival over Kanye West as calls grow to ban him from the UK

Read More: Wireless Festival boss defends Kanye West booking despite rapper's antisemitic comments

Mr Benn, said: “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.

“Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country. It is available via livestreams 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.”

The rapper, who has been widely condemned, apologised for the series of comments earlier this year - blaming a manic episode brought on by bipolar disorder.

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.

LBC understands the Mayor of London’s office blocked a request to let Kanye West perform at the London Stadium.

The venue – owned by the Greater London Authority and home to West Ham – was approached to host the artist this summer.

But it’s understood this was turned down because of likely community concerns and reputational risk to the capital.

It follows reports that Tottenham Hotspur also refused to let Kanye West perform at their stadium in north London in light of their historic links with the Jewish community.

Earlier on Monday, the Board of Deputies of British Jews President, Phil Rosenberg, said that Wireless Festival and Melvin Benn should not be “profiteering from racism” through Kanye West's invitation.

Mr Rosenberg added: "As we have said over the last week, Wireless Festival have made absolutely the wrong decision in inviting Kanye West to headline their festival over three days.

"A man who has described himself as a Nazi, released a song called 'Heil Hitler', and said the 400-year enslavement of black people was 'like a choice', is clearly not an appropriate booking for this event.

"The decision breaches Wireless’s own charter, which says, “We will not tolerate discrimination because of someone’s disability, religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity in any form. Discriminatory words or actions have no place at Rockstar presents Wireless Finsbury Park”.

"While we have sympathy for Kanye West’s challenges with mental health and bipolar disorder, his management has clearly not been able to support him in refraining from these comments in the past. We also note that bigoted comments of this sort are not an inherent trait of bipolar disorder."

Rosenberg added that the "main responsibility here lies with the Wireless Festival organisers. They have spent the last six days being ‘unavailable for comment’

The statement added: "They should not be hiding behind the facelessness of their corporation. Melvin Benn, the Managing Director of Festival Republic, which runs the Wireless Festival, should be called to account. They should not be profiteering from racism."

In response to Mr Benn's request for forgiveness, Mr Rosenberg added: “After a week of Wireless Festival avoiding any media, this statement will not reassure many within the Jewish or other communities against whom Kanye West’s invective was directed over a much longer period than his more recent apology.

"The two key facts remain that Kanye West proclaimed himself a Nazi, and that Wireless stands to benefit financially from his performance. Indeed, we note that concern was Mr Benn’s initial reaction to the idea of inviting Kanye West. It remains ours.

"It is time for Wireless to do the decent thing and rescind an invitation they never should have offered. Kanye West may well be on the path to health and healing. We sincerely hope that he is. But the space to test this is not over three days on the Wireless main stage.”

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”.

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.