Wireless music festival has been canceled after one of its headliners, Kanye “Ye” West, was blocked from travelling to the U.K.
“The Home Office has withdrawn YE’s ETA, denying him entry into the United Kingdom. As a result, Wireless Festival is cancelled and refunds will be issued to all ticket holders,” the event said in a statement on Wednesday.
It continued: “As with every Wireless Festival, multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking YE and no concerns were highlighted at the time… Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had. As YE said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the U.K.”
The British government had confirmed to the BBC just moments before Wireless’ cancellation that the decision to “refuse permission was made on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good.”
It all springs from backlash sparked by West’s headline spot at one of the country’s biggest music festivals, which usually takes place across three days in London, in the context of the rapper’s historical antisemitism. Among some of his most incendiary actions are his 2025 song “Heil Hitler,” the selling of swastika t-shirts on the Yeezy website and publicly denying the Holocaust.
He’s since apologized for his antisemitic statements in a Wall Street Journal ad earlier this year, detailing his mental health struggles and bipolar disorder. The singer wrote that he was “deeply mortified” by his past behavior, saying he “lost touch with reality” through various manic episodes.
When West was booked as a headliner at Wireless — a major summer event which draws crowds of up to 50,000 people a day in July — he might have considered it quite the leap forward in returning to the mainstream music scene, especially given his recent comeback concert in L.A, where the singer did not address any of his hateful statements.
But the U.K.’s music industry, its fans and even the country’s top politicians immediately voiced their outrage over West’s booking. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told The Sun: “It is deeply concerning Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism… Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted firmly wherever it appears,” he continued. “Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe.”
Sponsors such as Pepsi and Diageo began to pull out of Wireless from Sunday, after promoter Festival Republic had announced the inclusion of West in the lineup. Republic executive Melvin Benn issued an extensive statement Monday defending the decision to book West, stating fans should “offer some forgiveness and hope” considering his mental health battles.
Benn spoke to the BBC’s Today program on Tuesday, and confessed his company had failed to consult with Jewish communities in the U.K. before making the booking. “Potentially we should have done,” he said, “and that may prove to be a mistake that we made.”
Attempts were made to reach out to Jewish groups after West’s announcement, according to Benn, but “they have refused a meeting.” When asked what would happen if West tried to perform “Heil Hitler” on stage at the fest, Benn said the show would immediately be stopped, adding: “We will have our hands on the microphone controls at all times.” He acknowledged West’s behavior was “abhorrent” and “disgusting.”
On Tuesday, West released a statement to the BBC saying he “would be grateful” to meet leading members of the Jewish community in Britain. “I know words aren’t enough,” he wrote, explaining that he intends to come to London with the intention of “unity, peace and love… I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here.”
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, has said he is “willing” to meet the rapper, but only if the American star cancels his upcoming performances. “The Jewish community will want to see a genuine remorse and change before believing that the appropriate place to test this sincerity is on the main stage at the Wireless Festival,” Rosenberg said.
Then came the news that Shabana Mahmood, the U.K. Home Secretary, was reviewing whether West should be permitted entry into Britain. Benn reportedly said the singer had been granted a visa to perform here “in the last few days,” but conceded that Mahmood “may well rescind that.”
Rescind that she seemingly did on Wednesday afternoon. Wireless did not immediately respond to request for comment from The Hollywood Reporter about West’s travel block or the cancellation of the fest entirely.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting was among the more sharp-tongued public servants criticizing West, calling his Wall Street Journal apology “mealy-mouthed and self-serving,” and accusing Wireless of offering him “a fig leaf of credibility.”
“When Kanye West uses bipolar disorder to justify his actions, I think that is equally appalling, by the way,” said Streeting this week. “I would ask people to consider, does using bipolar disorder as an excuse to write and release a song called ‘Heil Hitler’ and plaster it across T-shirts, does bipolar disorder really justify that? Or is it an excuse to justify rotten behaviour?”
Friends star David Schwimmer also weighed in. He took to social media Monday to praise the companies that pulled their sponsorship at Wireless, stating that West still hasn’t properly atoned for his years of antisemitic comments and that his written apology “does not erase years of abuse.”
