Kanye West’s right to enter UK under review by the government
The UK government is said to be reviewing the right for Kanye West to enter the country, following the news of his headline slot at Wireless Festival.
The London festival, taking place in Finsbury Park, announced last week that the rapper is set to headline all three nights of its event this year, between July 10th and 12th.
However, given West’s history of antisemitism, including proclaiming himself to be a Nazi, selling T-shirts emblazoned with swastikas, and releasing a song called ‘Heil Hitler’ last year, the move has been met with widespread condemnation.
According to BBC News, UK government ministers are now reviewing West’s right to enter the country, as foreign nationals are allowed to be banned if they are not considered to be “conducive to the public good”.
It comes after a number of figures from across the political spectrum called for West’s appearance at Wireless to be reconsidered, including the Conservatives, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer also said over the weekend that the news of West coming to the UK for the first time since he performed at Glastonbury in 2015 was “deeply concerning”.
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid also weighed in, criticising the “disgraceful” move on X and imploring Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to ban West from the country.
Pressure has been mounting throughout the day on the festival, with a number of corporate sponsors withdrawing their support. A source confirmed to Far Out that Rockstar Energy would be distancing itself, following similar moves from Pepsi, Diageo, and PayPal.
The UK’s leading charity fighting antisemitism, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), previously told Far Out with regards to West’s headlining of Wireless: “Kanye West has dedicated years of his life to trying to incite his followers to hate Jews. He has more followers than there are Jews on Earth, so his incitement has a huge impact.”
They added: “His cycle of apology and relapse has become a routine, so as with any addict, once again we must wait to see if this time is any different.”
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