The festival’s parent company insists that the rapper “has a legal right to come into the country and to perform.”

Music festival urges critics to give Ye a ‘second chance’ after losing sponsors over his antisemitic remarks

The festival's parent company insists that the rapper "has a legal right to come into the country and to perform."

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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April 6, 2026 5:27 p.m. ET

Kanye West. Credit:

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The Wireless Festival is calling for people to "forgive" and "move on" from Ye's past antisemitic remarks.

Since naming the controversial rapper as the event's headlining performer, the London music festival has been at the center of a media firestorm. Pepsi — who partnered with the festival for over a decade — ended its long-standing support by withdrawing from the event. Three more sponsors have since pulled out of the event: Paypal, alcoholic beverage giant Diageo and AB InBev, the brewer behind such brands as Budweiser and Corona.

Prior to the sponsors canceling, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who condemned the festival for booking Ye as a headliner. On Monday, a U.K. government source told NBC News that government ministers are reviewing Ye’s permission to enter the country. Hours later, the London festival confirmed that it has no plans to remove the rapper, formerly known as Kanye West, as their headlining performer.

In a statement provided to* *, Melvin Benn, the managing director of Wireless Festival's parent company Festival Republic, said, "I am a deeply committed anti-fascist and have been all my adult life. I lived on a kibbutz for many months in the 1970’s that was attacked on October 7th, am pro Jew and the Jewish state, while being equally committed to a Palestinian state."

Kanye West at the 67th Grammys Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 2025.

Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty

He added that due to a loved one suffering from mental illness, "I have witnessed many episodes of despicable behavior that I have had to forgive and move on from."

Benn continued, "What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the Prime Minister and others that have commented and — taking him at his word — to Ye now also."

Indeed, Ye recently made another bid for amends by penning an apology shared in *The Wall Street Journal*. Apologizing for his past antisemitic behavior, Ye, also got candid about his battle with bipolar disorder.

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Defending the rapper, Benn wrote that Ye "has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country."

As for the company's stance on Ye's previously condemned remarks, Benn continued, "He is intended to come in and perform. We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions."

The statement concluded, "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."

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The past few years have marked a dark period for Ye, who has been persistently at the center of controversy for making numerous antisemitic and racist remarks. The scandals led several professional partners to cut ties with him — including Adidas, Balenciaga, and Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Though Ye apologized to the Jewish community in 2023, the controversies continued. Last year, he called Adolf Hitler "fresh" on social media and later had his website shut down for selling swastika-covered shirts. In May 2025, he released the song "Heil Hitler," which was "banned by all digital streaming platforms."

Still, Ye has found success. Audiences have turned out for the rapper who set several comeback performances over the course of recent months, including his gig as the main act for the U.K. festival.

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In his January apology, which came in the form of a full-page advertisement in the *Wall Street Journal*, Ye wrote: "I am not a Nazi or an antisemite."

He said that in his experience, bipolar disorder means that when "you're manic, you don't think you're sick" and explained that he had "lost touch with reality."

"I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state," he added.

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