Wes Streeting slams Wireless bosses over Kanye West row in Sky News slapdown
The Home Office is considering whether US rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye, should be able to enter the UK to perform at Wireless Festival after his previous antisemitic comments
The Home Office is considering whether the US rapper should be able to enter the UK (Image: NBC)
Wes Streeting has said Wireless festival bosses should be “ashamed” of themselves after defending their decision top feature Kanye West.
The Home Office is considering whether the US rapper, also known as Ye, should be able to enter the UK after his previous antisemitic comments. He is due to perform at the London music festival for three nights in July.
Health Secretary Mr Streeting said he is “appalled” by West’s behaviour and accused him of using his bipolar disorder as an “excuse”.
The festival’s promoter, Festival Republic, defended the planned performance, saying West “has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country”. It comes amid calls for him to be barred from entering the UK because of previous antisemitism.
READ MORE: Kanye West’s permission to enter UK being reviewed amid Wireless row
Asked about West being blocked from entering the country, Mr Streeting told Sky News: “That’s a decision for the Home Office and I’m not going to prejudice their decision about this case. What I would say is that Kanye West has no business headlining the wireless festival. I think organisers showed a terrible error of judgement in inviting him. These weren’t a couple of off colour remarks. These were, I think, a pattern of behaviour.
“The releasing of a song called Heil Hitler, the plastering of that slogan across T shirts, then using bipolar disorder as an excuse, and then when he realised the impact on his fame and his career, came out with a mealy mouthed apology, which has now been given a fig leaf of credibility by festival organisers who should be ashamed of themselves.
“I’m appalled actually. You look at the context in which Kanye West operates. He’s got enormous fame, enormous reach. And antisemitism – hatred – against Jewish people in this country and elsewhere has been rising.
“We’ve seen it manifesting itself not just through online behaviour, verbal abuse, but through physical attacks, including in Heaton Park in Manchester, where people died at the hands of that attack. We saw it more recently with an attack on a charity in north London, a Jewish charity that runs an ambulance service.
“Antisemitism is serious, it can be deadly and people like Kanye West, who have an enormous platform, fame, reach, they have to accept the responsibility that comes with that. And I don’t think he has. I’m only too disappointed the festival organisers are too blind to see it.”
West has offered to meet with the British Jewish community ahead of his show at Wireless. In an addition to his apology for previous antisemitic comments issued in the Wall Street Journal in January, Ye said: “I’ve been following the conversation around Wireless and want to address it directly.“My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music. I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen. I know words aren’t enough – I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here.”The rapper is to top the bill for all three nights of the festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called the decision “deeply concerning”, while major sponsors Diageo and Pepsi have withdrawn their support for the festival because of the booking. Presale tickets for Wireless Festival are released at 12pm on Tuesday, and the general sale opens at 12pm on Wednesday.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has faced calls from politicians and the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) to ban West from coming to the UK, saying his presence would not be “conducive to the public good”.
Melvin Benn, managing director at Festival Republic, which promotes Wireless Festival, yesterday described himself as a “deeply committed anti-fascist” and “person of forgiveness”. In a statement, Mr Benn added: “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.“Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country. 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.”
