A music festival in Britain has “been forced to cancel” after the government barred headliner Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, from entering the country, organizers said in a statement Tuesday.
The news comes after mounting controversy in the country over the rapper’s history of antisemitic statements.
The British government has blocked Ye from entry on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good. He had applied Monday to travel via an Electronic Travel Authorization.
Ye was scheduled to headline London’s Wireless Festival, which was expected to draw about 150,000 people, in July. “As a result of the Home Office banning Ye from entering the United Kingdom, Wireless Festival has been forced to cancel,” the festival said in a statement. “All ticket holders will receive an automatic full refund.”
In recent days, major sponsors had pulled from the festival, and politicians had criticized the booking. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it “deeply concerning” that Ye was scheduled to perform “despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism.”
“Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted clearly and firmly wherever it appears,” Starmer said in a statement published by the Sun on Sunday. “Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe and secure.”
Ye has made several antisemitic and hateful statements starting in 2022, including voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler, denying the Holocaust and proclaiming himself a Nazi. Last year, he sold swastika T-shirts on his website and released a song called “Heil Hitler.”
In January, he took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to apologize for what he described as his past “impulsive” behavior. Addressed “To Those I’ve Hurt,” the rapper wrote that his past conduct was connected to his bipolar diagnosis and an undiagnosed brain injury. “I am not a Nazi or antisemite. I love Jewish people,” he wrote.
But while Ye had turned into a public pariah, he still retained legions of fans. He performed two sold-out shows at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles last week, which earned a reported $33 million, according to Bloomberg News, which cited people familiar with the figures. Ye’s Friday show may have set a record for live performance ticket sales.
As the pressure mounted in Britain, Ye said he “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’ll have to show change through my actions,” he wrote in a statement reported by the Associated Press. “If you’re open, I’m here.”
Melvin Benn, managing director of the Festival Republic, also defended the booking in a statement shared with media outlets this week. “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.”
Representatives for Ye did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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