UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Calls Decision To Have Kanye West Headline Wireless Festival “Deeply Concerning”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has shared a statement addressing Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) placement as a headliner at the upcoming Wireless Festival following multiple anti-semitic comments in the last year.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has spoken out against Wireless Festival for allowing Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) to headline the festival.

The festival has since faced significant backlash after it announced that Ye would be headlining all three nights at the festival, with the shows being described as a three-night journey through his “most iconic records”.

“It is deeply concerning Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism,” Starmer told The Sun today (April 5).

“Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe.”

Ye’s inclusion at Wireless Festival has also drawn comments from both the Jewish Leadership Council and Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, which the former would call the choice “deeply irresponsible”.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also hit out against the festival’s booking, writing: “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”.

Ye’s public anti-Semitic comments would start in 2022, which would result in his Twitter and Instagram accounts being suspended. Ye would also be dropped by his lawyer, talent agency and record label for the comments. Belenciaga and Adidas would also pull their brand deals with the rapper.

In the weeks following his initial comments, instead of apologising, Ye would instead double down, and suggest that the Jewish community should “forgive Hitler”. Eventually, Ye would walk back these comments, thanking Jonah Hill for making him like “Jewish people again”, and would blame alcohol for his behaviour that year.

Ye would take back this apology in 2025, saying that he would “never apologise for my Jewish comments” and openly declared himself a Nazi. He would also go on to sell t-shirts with swastikas on them and release a song praising Hitler.

He would again apologise for his comments later that year after speaking to a Rabbi, and took out a full page in the Wall Street Journal apologising for his comments.

He has since gone on to release the new album Bully, and has kicked off his tour at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, where he’d sidestep his behaviour, asking the crowd “Tonight, we’re going to put this all behind us, ain’t that right LA?”