Wireless Festival boss defends decision to have Kanye West headline and calls for rapper to be 'forgiven'

One of the organisers of Wireless Festival has defended the decision to book Kanye West as its headline act - and is calling for the public to "forgive" the controversial rapper.

Melvin Benn, managing director at Festival Republic, that promotes Wireless, described West's previous comments as "abhorrent" but added that he will only be performing and will not be given a platform to voice any opinions.

He said in a statement: "What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community.

"Ye's music is played on commercial radio stations in this country. It is available via live streams and downloads in this country without comment or vitriol from anyone and he has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country.

"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."

Mr Benn went on to ask "people to reflect ... and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do".

In his statement, he added: "I am a deeply committed anti-fascist and have been all my adult life. I lived on a kibbutz for many months in the 1970s."

The executive also said he is "pro the Jewish state, while being equally committed to a Palestinian state".

Pepsi and Diageo pulled out of sponsoring London's Wireless Festival at the weekend - following the announcement that West would top the bill for all three nights of the event in July, playing to about 150,000 people.

Sir Keir Starmer criticised the booking, saying it was "deeply concerning" that the 48-year-old musician was headlining the festival "despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism".

The US rapper's last UK performance was his Glastonbury headline set in 2015. In the years since, he has drawn criticism for antisemitic posts on social media, a Super Bowl advert directing people to a swastika T-shirt, and a song referencing Hitler, which saw Australia cancel his visa for the country in July.

Such statements have seen him barred from social media platforms, including X, several times.

In January, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise for his behaviour, titled: "To Those I've Hurt."

"I am not a Nazi or an antisemite," it said. "I love Jewish people."

He attributed his previous outbursts to his bipolar-1 disorder, writing: "In early 2025, I fell into a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life.

"I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret."

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Politicians, including Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, and Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, have called for the government to consider banning West from coming to the UK, as have Jewish community organisations and the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).

Last week, the Jewish Leadership Council condemned the organisers for booking Ye after a rise in attacks on Jewish people and Jewish targets.

The Conservative Party has written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, urging her to ‌ban him from coming to Britain.

As the calls for him to be banned grow, Sky News understands ministers are considering whether to allow the singer to enter the UK, while the Home Office is yet to receive his application to enter the country.

Live Nation, the co-organiser of the festival, and Ye's managers have been contacted for comment.

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