UK blocks Kanye West from entering Britain to headline Wireless Festival
UK blocks Kanye West from entering Britain to headline Wireless Festival
Britain bars Kanye West (Ye) from entering ahead of Wireless Festival as sponsors pull out amid antisemitism controversy.
The UK government has blocked rapper Kanye West, who often goes by Ye, from entering Britain to headline the Wireless Festival in London. A senior government figure said Ye should absolutely not perform at the festival as sponsors and lawmakers pressed for cancellation amid widespread condemnation of antisemitic remarks and admiration for Adolf Hitler. The decision comes after a tumultuous run-up to the three-day event, during which major sponsors pulled their support and political leaders weighed in. Last year, Ye released a song titled Heil Hitler and advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale, shifts that reinforced the sensitivity around his appearance at a prominent public event. He later apologized in January with a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal, attributing much of his past behavior to a bipolar episode that he described as having derailed his life.
