Kanye West responds to calls for Wireless Festival ban - and offers to meet UK Jewish community
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
Kanye West has said he would be "grateful" for the opportunity to meet members of the UK Jewish community as the furore grows over his antisemitic comments.
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The rapper, who is legally known as Ye, has been at the centre of controversy since it was announced he would be headlining the Wireless Festival in July.
Organiser Melvin Benn has been accused of 'profiteering from racism' by inviting the singer to top the bill for all three nights of the festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July.
Last year West released a song called Heil Hitler and sold merchandise, including a white T-shirt emblazoned with a black swastika.
The announcement of his appearance has sparked calls for the rapper to be banned.
Sir Keir Starmer has criticised the booking as “deeply concerning”, while major sponsors have withdrawn their support for the festival.
West issued a fresh apology on Tuesday morning in which he addresses the conversation "directly".
He said: "My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music.
"I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen. I know words aren't enough - I'll have to show change through my actions. If you're open, I'm here."
It comes as Health Secretary Wes Streeting said whether West was allowed to enter the UK was a matter for the Home Office.
He said: “As to whether he should be headlining the Wireless Festival, I think that’s very straightforward, no I do not think he should be headlining the Wireless Festival.
“I think his comments were absolutely grotesque and whatever justification he uses, he has got to accept that with his enormous fame and reach comes influence and a responsibility, and his comments take place against a backdrop of rising antisemitism, rising hatred against Jewish people, not just around the world but in this country.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood now faces 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”.
It is understood that West’s permission to enter the UK is currently being reviewed by ministers.
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that Kanye West's apologies are currently "just words with no meaningful action".
He said: "Everybody should have the right to redeem themselves, to be rehabilitated and to regain the place that they once held in, in their professions or in society.
"But at the moment it's just words with no meaningful action. And we've had with Kanye west multiple cycles of apology furthered by further anti Semitic contact conduct.
"The most recent being in January this year when he blamed his behaviour on bipolar disorder. If he's sorry, it's great that he's sorry, but we've not seen any evidence that it's genuine and that it's long lasting.
"And with that in mind, the invitation to headline Wireless and the response of wireless to this is quite astonishing."
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”.
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, the Press Association understands.
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.
The musician, also known as Ye, has been barred from X over antisemitism on multiple occasions.
It is understood that the Mayor of London’s office refused permission for the London Stadium, in Stratford, to stage a Kanye West concert this summer, with sources citing community concerns and the reputational impact on the city.
The Home Office has been approached for comment.
The 48-year-old rapper’s scheduled appearance comes amid fears of growing antisemitism in the UK.
In March, four ambulances from a Jewish community-run service were set on fire in north-west London.
Two men and a 17-year-old boy were remanded in custody on Saturday after appearing in court accused of torching the vehicles.
In October last year, two men were killed in an attack on a Manchester synagogue.
Jewish community organisations have criticised the festival, with Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews calling it the “wrong decision” and called on the Government to consider barring him from entering the country.
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”.
Melvin Benn, managing director at Festival Republic which promotes Wireless Festival, described himself as a “deeply committed anti-fascist” and “person of forgiveness”.
He added that West has a “legal right to come into the country and to perform”.
In a statement, Mr Benn said: “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 live streams 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.”