Diageo, PepsiCo and AB InBev have said they will drop their sponsorship of a UK festival amid growing criticism on the booking of Kanye West to headline the event.
The US rapper, now known as Ye, was named the headline act for the London-based Wireless Festival a week ago.
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Since then, the move to book Ye has received widespread backlash from people including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the Jewish Leadership Council, according to local reports.
Over the weekend, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was also reported to have described the move as “deeply concerning”.
Coverage from the BBC yesterday (6 April) said the Government is now reviewing the rapper’s right to enter the UK.
A spokesperson from Diageo confirmed the spirits major will not sponsor the festival this year “as it stands”, and that it has “informed the organisers of our concerns”.
PepsiCo has also pulled its support for the festival. In a statement it confirmed: “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival”, without providing further details.
An AB InBev spokesperson also issued a nearly identical statement to PepsiCo, confirming its decision to pull out of sponsoring Wireless.
Ye is known for having made a number of antisemitic remarks in recent years. Reports from the BBC suggest the producer and songwriter was banned from entering Australia last year after having released a song called ‘Heil Hitler’.
In January, the rapper apologised for his past actions in an advert in the Wall Street Journal. He said his bipolar disorder meant that “when you’re manic, you don’t think you’re sick” and that he “lost touch with reality”.
Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic which runs the Wireless Festival, said: “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.
“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.”
