Rockstar Energy withdraws sponsorship from Wireless Festival over Kanye West, sources confirm
Rockstar Energy has become the third brand to withdraw its sponsorship from Wireless Festival over Kanye West, a source has confirmed to Far Out.
Pressure has been increasingly rising on the festival’s decision for the rapper to headline its three nights at Finsbury Park in London this July, given his history of antisemitic comments and actions, including claiming himself to be a Nazi and releasing a song called ‘Heil Hitler’ last year.
West has not performed in the UK since Glastonbury in 2015, but the announcement of his upcoming appearances at Wireless has been met with widespread condemnation from a range of charities, politicians, and activists.
The outrage has led two of the festival’s main sponsors, Pepsi and Diageo, to withdraw their support from the event, with the latter confirming in a statement on April 5th: “We have informed the organisers of our concerns and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival.”
However, on April 6th, a source confirmed to Far Out that the drinks company Rockstar Energy will also be removing its sponsorship from the festival over its links to West.
Further to this, it is also understood that PayPal, a payment partner for the festival, will not allow for its branding or logo to be used in any promotional material relating to Wireless, according to BBC News.
It comes after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously said the decision to platform the rapper was “deeply concerning”, with these calls being echoed by London mayor Sadiq Khan and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey.
Earlier on April 6th, former Chancellor of the Exchequer and current chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Sajid Javid said West’s headline slot was “disgraceful”.
He also called on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to ban West from performing in the UK, saying he was “certain” she would take this action.
Subsequently, a number of figures from across the political spectrum have endorsed Javid’s sentiment, with the Conservatives pressuring the government to ban West from the country.
When the news was initially announced last week, the UK charity Campaign Against Antisemitism told Far Out: “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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