Kanye West blocked from entering Britain to headline music festival after backlash over antisemitic comments
LONDON — Ye has been blocked from visiting Britain to headline a music festival this summer after a backlash over his antisemitic social media statements and songs, the event’s organizers said Tuesday.
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The three-day Wireless Festival was canceled after authorities withdrew Ye’s electronic travel authorization, organizers Festival Republic, a division of Live Nation, said in a statement.
It comes hours after the rapper, formerly known as Kanye West, offered to meet members of the Jewish community in Britain as he responded for the first time to the mounting controversy. Pressure had built for the U.K. government to ban Ye from the country after the festival rejected calls from politicians and community leaders to drop him as headliner.
And on Tuesday Festival Republic said that “The Home Office has withdrawn YE’s ETA, denying him entry into the United Kingdom.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 statement also said that “multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking YE and no concerns were highlighted at the time.” It added that “antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognize the real and personal impact these issues have had.”
The BBC also reported that Ye had been banned from entering the country. The U.K. Home Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
A British government source told NBC News on Monday that ministers were reviewing whether to let Ye into the country and at least four corporate sponsors of the Wireless festival, including Pepsi, distanced themselves from the event.
The decision is one of the most meaningful results of the rapper’s descent into racist sloganeering, which saw him release a song titled “Heil Hitler.”
Ye issued a statement earlier Tuesday in which he said:
“I’ve been following the conversation around Wireless and I want to address it directly. My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music.”
He continued: “I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the U.K. in person, to listen.”
“I know words aren’t enough — I’ve have to show change through my actions,” he said.”
“If you’re open, I’m here. With Love.”
Ye previously offered T-shirts for sale featuring a swastika symbol and declared “I’m a Nazi” on social media.
He publicly apologized for those comments earlier this year in a full-page Wall Street Journal advertisement, citing an undiagnosed brain injury and mental health issues.
On Monday, Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn said in a lengthy statement that Ye had been invited to perform songs that are already being heard by millions on the radio and streaming services and that he should be offered “forgiveness.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said in response to Ye’s statement that “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 Wireless Festival.”
Phil Rosenberg, the board’s president, said the group would meet with Ye only after he has agreed not to play the festival.
Wes Streeting, the British health secretary and an influential voice in the ruling Labour Party, told Sky News on Tuesday that Ye’s set should be canceled.
“What I would say is that Kanye West has no business headlining the Wireless Festival. I think organizers showed a terrible error of judgement in inviting him,” he said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously criticized the decision to have Ye headline the festival.
This is a developing story, check back here for updates soon.