London Mayor Sadiq Khan has hit out at the news of Kanye West headlining Wireless 2026.
The rapper was announced to headline all three nights of the Finsbury Park festival on Monday (March 30) – marking Ye’s first UK gigs in a decade. His last festival headline set was at Wireless in 2014, while the Chicago rapper also played a guest-packed show – featuring the likes of Skepta, JME, Vic Mensa and Raekwon – during a surprise gig at London’s Koko in 2015.
However, groups such as the Jewish Leadership Council and Campaign Against Anti-Semitism have criticised Ye’s headline slot, the former of whom called the move “deeply irresponsible” (via The Guardian).
Now, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has spoken out against Ye’s upcoming appearance at the festival. In a press statement released yesterday (April 1), Khan wrote: “We are clear that the past comments and actions of this artist are offensive and wrong, and are simply not reflective of London’s values”.
“This was a decision taken by the festival organizers and not one that City Hall is involved in.”
A spokesperson for London mayor Sadiq Khan has issued a statement on Ye headlining Wireless this summer:
“We are clear the past comments/actions of this artist are offensive and wrong, and are simply not reflective of London’s values.”
“This was a decision taken by the festival… pic.twitter.com/m3HqD1lxFd
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) April 1, 2026
West has repeatedly come under fire for his anti-Semitic comments, which began when he made a series of offensive comments on social media in 2022. His remarks saw his accounts on both Instagram and Twitter sites suspended, and the musician was dropped by his lawyer, talent agency and record label.
Fashion brands such as Balenciaga and Adidas also cut ties with West, with celebrities and politicians around the world condemning his comments.
Doubling down on his behaviour at first, West would claim he didn’t “believe” in the term anti-Semitism and refuse to apologise for making the comments during an interview with Piers Morgan, further telling Jewish people to “forgive Hitler” in a December 2022 interview with far-right commentator Gavin McInnes. West would then apologise to the Jewish community in 2023, before blaming alcohol for the comments the following year.
Since that initial apology, West has been hit with numerous lawsuits, with one former employee alleging that the rapper said Jewish people were “working together to hold him back”. Another former employee claimed he used antisemitic language in the workplace and praised Hitler – something which he allegedly paid a settlement for. In 2024, a separate ex-employee accused him of being openly anti-Semitic in front of his staff.
After sharing a spate of highly controversial posts in early 2025, when he took back an apology he previously made to the Jewish community for anti-Semitic remarks, and then declared himself “a Nazi”, West claimed on X/Twitter that, “after further reflection”, he’d “come to the realisation that I’m not a Nazi”. But this was followed only a few days later by yet more swastika apparel appearing on his X page.
The rapper would then make a series of apologies to the Jewish community again, holding a meeting with a rabbi and apologising for his anti-Semitic comments last November. West would also take out a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal apologising for his actions.
He went on to clarify that his recent apology for his past anti-Semitic comments was not about his new album ‘BULLY’ – which was released last weekend – or an attempt to “revive” his career while also sharing details of his bipolar type-1 diagnosis, which he’d dismissed early last year.
In other news, James Blake has asked to be taken off producer credits for ‘BULLY’, saying the final result is “not what I created”.
