Kanye West is banned from the United Kingdom, the country’s Home Office has announced. After weeks of heated debate about the rapper’s booking at Wireless Festival, the UK government told the BBC that Ye’s Electronic Travel Authorisation application had been refused, on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good.
The decision follows uproar over Wireless’ decision to book Ye despite his litany of antisemitic remarks and alignment with Nazism in recent years. Politicians, celebrities, and bodies representing British Jewish people have condemned the festival, citing offences such as Ye’s release of a song called “Heil Hitler”—which led to his ban from Australia last year—and his sale of a swastika T-shirt. The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, called the booking “deeply concerning,” and several brands pulled out from sponsoring the festival.
Yesterday, Melvin Benn, the boss of Wireless parent Festival Republic, released a statement standing by the booking and advocating for forgiveness of Ye. Earlier today, West followed up on Benn’s comments with his own statement, released via Festival Republic, which adhered to the format and tone of his January apology in The Wall Street Journal, titled “To Those I’ve Hurt.” In the new statement, Ye wrote that he intended to “present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music” in London, adding that he would like to “meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen.”
Read Sam Goldner’s recent live review Kanye Wades Through the Fog at SoFi Stadium.
