Sajid Javid is the latest to slam Wireless Festival for booking Kanye West, and has said he’s “certain” the Home Secretary will block him from coming to the UK if they don’t cancel the shows.
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The controversial rapper, who now goes by Ye, was recently announced as the headliner for all three nights of the Finsbury Park festival this July, with the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and current chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust saying the booking was “disgraceful” in a new post shared to X.
The booking has triggered widespread criticism, including by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who said it was “deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous anti-Semitic remarks and celebration of Nazism”.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan also spoke out against the decision, saying Ye’s past comments and actions are “not reflective of London’s values”, while groups including the Jewish Leadership Council and the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism have come out against the booking too.
Over the weekend, Pepsi – who are the primary sponsors of Wireless – cut ties with the festival, with a spokesperson from the company confirming to the Mirror that they had “decided to withdraw [their] sponsorship of Wireless Festival.”
Wireless Festival’s booking of Kanye West is disgraceful.
Yes, he has spoken about mental health challenges. That should be met with sympathy. But declaring yourself a Nazi and promoting a song called Heil Hitler should have consequences – and those consequences don’t include… https://t.co/9dFIXBVApi
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) April 6, 2026
Reposting a tweet reporting that Diageo – owner of the Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan brands – had followed Pepsi’s lead, Javid shared a lengthy post this morning (April 6) criticising the booking.
“Yes, he has spoken about mental health challenges. That should be met with sympathy,” he wrote. “But declaring yourself a Nazi and promoting a song called Heil Hitler should have consequences – and those consequences don’t include being given a stage to spread your hate to thousands of young Londoners.”
West’s anti-Semitic remarks began when he made a series of offensive comments on social media in 2022. His remarks saw his accounts on both Instagram and Twitter suspended, and the musician was dropped by his lawyer, talent agency and record label, along with fashion brands such as Balenciaga and Adidas.
At first, West gave several interviews, refusing to apologise for making the comments while suggesting that Jewish people should “forgive Hitler”. However, in 2023, West would deliver an apology to the Jewish community, going on to blame alcohol for his behaviour the following year.
“Let us also be honest about what is happening here,” Javid continued. “This is not a brave artistic decision. It is a commercial one. The organisers know his notoriety will bring headlines, attention and ticket sales.
“That is what makes it so ugly. Young people are growing up in a culture where hatred is too often dressed up as edge, rebellion or entertainment. Put someone with this record on one of Britain’s biggest stages and you send a poisonous message: no matter how vile your conduct, there is still money to be made for you in the attention economy.”
He then praised Pepsi and Diageo for pulling out, and said, “others should now think very carefully about their values and whether they want to be part of this.
“The organisers have a small window to still do the right thing and disinvite him. If they don’t, just like I did with hate preachers, I’m certain the Home Secretary will want to use her powers and block Kanye West from the UK.”
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, could personally direct that West be excluded from the UK.
As noted by the Guardian, the Home Office does not comment on individual cases, but UK immigration rules state that a person can be denied entry based on their character, conduct, or associations when these pose a threat to UK society, which applies to conduct both in the UK and abroad.
The test is applied on a case-by-case basis, while Home Office guidelines list scenarios such as if the person has engaged in extremism or other unacceptable behaviour. The latter includes views that “foster hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK”.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the rapper with claims of extensive anti-Semitic behaviour. One former employee alleged 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 for 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.
West would share a number 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 then claimed on X/Twitter that, “after further reflection”, he’d “come to the realisation that I’m not a Nazi”, followed only a few days later by yet more swastika apparel appearing on his X page.
West has since apologised for his actions by meeting with a rabbi and taking out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal broadcasting a separate apology.
However, while he did not address the ongoing controversy while kicking off his tour recently, did tell the crowd at the SoFi Stadium: “Tonight we’re going to put all this behind us, ain’t that right LA?” on Friday (April 3).
