Melvin Benn of Festival Republic calls Kanye West’s past comments “abhorrent” but urges “forgiveness” and “a second chance”
Melvin Benn, the managing director of Festival Republic, has released a new statement on Kanye West ahead of his planned appearance at the Wireless Festival.
The rapper’s involvement in the festival has come under scrutiny following his past antisemitic remarks. Now, in a statement issued to Far Out, Benn has urged the public to give West another chance after allegedly understanding the error of his ways.
Having identified himself as being “committed anti-fascist” and asserting his commitment to Palestine, Benn did acknowledge how heinous some of West’s past statements have been, saying, “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.”
However, following West’s most recent album cycle and a massive statement he gave about his ongoing struggles with bipolar disorder, Benn has also said that he is much more open to forgiveness and is encouraging everyone involved in the Wireless Festival to find it in their heart to forgive as well.
“Having had a person in my life for the last 15 years who suffers from mental illness, I have witnessed many episodes of despicable behaviour that I have had to forgive and move on from,” Benn added. “If I wasn’t before, I have become a person of forgiveness and hope in all aspects of my life, including work.”
This comes after many major brands pulled out of Wireless due to West’s involvement. Since West was announced as a headliner, Pepsi, Diageo and Rockstar Energy have severed their ties with the event, and West’s right to enter the UK has also been put under review by the UK government.
But despite the many setbacks, Benn goes on to say that he believes that everyone involved with the festival should be open to forgiveness for West’s actions, saying, “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.”
“Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country,” Benn added. “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.”
Benn also said he has firsthand experience of “despicable behaviour” from people who are not in the right frame of mind. While West is still set to perform, Benn emphasised that the intention is to perform his material, not endorse his previously stated highly controversial views.
The director went on to insist that the concert is intended to be an opportunity to celebrate the music that West has created in the past, and nothing more. As of yet, there has been no statement from West regarding his festival appearance.
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