Wireless Festival Boss Defends Kanye West Booking, Urges Public Forgiveness

Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn has called Kanye West's antisemitic statements "abhorrent" while defending the decision to book him as the sole headliner for all three nights of Wireless Festival 2026, urging the public to "offer some forgiveness." The appeal landed as four major sponsors cut ties and UK ministers opened a review of whether West should be permitted to enter the country at all.

The commercial damage arrived fast. Pepsi, which had co-branded the event as "Pepsi MAX Presents Wireless" for more than a decade, announced a full withdrawal. Diageo, the drinks conglomerate behind Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys, Captain Morgan, and Ciroc, confirmed it "will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival." Rockstar Energy reportedly withdrew as well, and PayPal said it would not appear in future promotional materials. By Monday evening, all visible sponsor branding had been stripped from the festival's website.

Benn, who described himself as a "deeply committed anti-fascist" and "person of forgiveness," argued that West holds a "legal right to come into the country and to perform," noting that his music is played on UK commercial radio and available via streaming "without comment or vitriol from anyone." He drew a clear line between performance and ideology, stating the festival is "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."

The Campaign Against Antisemitism was not persuaded. Spokesperson Gideon Rosenberg accused Festival Republic of spending "the last six days being 'unavailable for comment'" and of "profiteering from racism." The CAA called on ministers to bar West's entry outright, arguing: "Surely this is a clear case." It also pushed back on Benn's mental health framing directly, noting that "bigoted comments of this sort are not an inherent trait of bipolar disorder." The Jewish Leadership Council also spoke out against the booking.

Cross-party political condemnation followed. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the booking "deeply concerning" and cited West's "celebration of Nazism." Mayor Sadiq Khan's office said West's views are "simply not reflective of London's values." Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said West should not be performing, while Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp characterised his conduct as "not a one-off lapse, but a pattern of behaviour" causing distress to Jewish communities. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has also demanded action.

That pattern is extensive. West wore a "White Lives Matter" shirt at Paris Fashion Week in October 2022, then threatened on Twitter to go "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE," praised Adolf Hitler on Alex Jones's InfoWars programme, and was subsequently dropped by Adidas, Balenciaga, Gap, and his talent agency CAA. The Anti-Defamation League documented at least 30 real-world antisemitic incidents directly referencing him in the aftermath. StopAntisemitism named him "Antisemite of the Year" for 2022. As recently as mid-2025, he released a track titled "Heil Hitler" and sold swastika merchandise through his website.

West, 48 and a 24-time Grammy winner, published a public apology in The Wall Street Journal on January 26, 2026, titled "To Those I've Hurt," attributing part of his conduct to bipolar disorder type-1 he said developed after a 2002 car crash. Benn leaned on that history in his defence of the booking.

Announced on March 30, 2026, the Wireless engagement would be West's first UK performance since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015; he last appeared at Wireless itself in 2014. Ticket presales were set for April 7 via Ticketmaster. Whether he performs at all remains an open question: ministers are actively reviewing his entry permission, West had not yet filed a formal visa application as of the latest reporting, and Australia had previously denied him entry. Festival Republic has made no public announcement of contractual conduct clauses, on-site policies addressing Jewish community concerns, or any charity commitment tied to the booking.