American rapper Kanye West has been barred from entering the UK and will no longer be performing at the Wireless festival in London this summer.
West, who is legally known as Ye, made an application to travel to the UK via an Electronic Travel Authorisation on Monday, but the Home Office denied West’s request, reportedly because his presence would “not be conducive to the public good,” per the BBC.
Following the news, Wireless Festival announced it would cancel the event. “As a result of the Home Office banning Ye from entering the United Kingdom, Wireless Festival has been forced to cancel. All ticket holders will receive an automatic full refund.”
“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 UK.”
It is understood that the application was initially granted online but was rescinded after review, on the grounds that his presence in the UK would not be conducive to the public good.
The rapper has been criticised for making antisemitic remarks, including voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Last year he released a song called Heil Hitler, a few months after advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website.
Ye took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal in January apologising for his antisemitic behaviour and attributing his inflammatory actions to his bipolar disorder. In a statement on Tuesday, he offered to “meet and listen” to members of the UK’s Jewish community.
Over the weekend, Keir Starmer joined criticism of the festival, saying it was “deeply concerning” that Ye had been booked to perform “despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of nazism”.
On Monday evening, Melvin Benn, the managing director of Festival Republic, which promotes Wireless, said Ye “intended to come in and perform”, adding that organisers were “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”.
