Kanye 'Ye' West blocked from travelling to UK by government
Controversial American rapper Kanye 'Ye' West has been blocked from entering the UK to perform at the Wireless music festival after a mounting backlash over his planned summer headline slot.
Published on 07/04/2026 - 15:32 GMT+2
The pressure was too strong...
Following the UK’s Wireless Festival being criticised over the booking of Kanye ‘Ye’ West, and growing backlash over the controversial rapper’s planned headline set this summer, the UK government has blocked the controversial rapper’s permission to travel to Blighty.
The Home Office confirmed the ban to the BBC; the government has discretion to ban foreign nationals from the UK if their presence is not considered "conducive to the public good".
The Wireless Festival has not yet publicly responded to the news.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has urged sponsors to continue boycotting the event, following the likes of Pepsi, Diageo, PayPal and Rockstar Energy all stepping away.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said in a statement: "The Government has clearly made the right decision here. For once, when it said that antisemitism has no place in the UK, it backed up its words with action.”
"Someone who has boasted of making tens of millions of dollars from selling swastika t-shirts and who released a song called Heil Hitler just months ago clearly would not be conducive to the public good in the UK.”
The statement concluded: "Wireless Festival, in its desperate quest for profit, defended the invitation until the end. That is shameful, and its sponsors should continue to stay away."
Previously, Melvin Benn, the managing director of Festival Republic, which co-promotes Wireless alongside Live Nation, had issued a statement defending West, calling his past comments “abhorrent” but pleading for “forgiveness” and “giving people a second chance”.
West even made a statement, saying he had 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," he said, offering to meet members of the Jewish community in person "to listen". He added: "I know words aren't enough - I'll have to show change through my actions. If you're open, I'm here."
However, those comments weren’t enough and West will not be heading to London this summer.
West’s anti-Semitic remarks began in 2022, when he made a series of offensive comments on social media which ended up getting him booted off both X and Instagram. The musician was dropped by his talent agency and fashion brands like Adidas and Balenciaga also distanced themselves from West.
West went on to post a picture of KKK robes, rescind his previous apology to the Jewish community, declare himself “a Nazi” and assert that he has“dominion over his wife”.
In February 2025, West started selling swastika t-shirts, and in May, he released a song titled ‘Heil Hitler’, which praised the Nazi leader. This led him to be stripped of a visa to enter Australia and faced with immediate arrest in Brazil.
West has since apologised for his actions and took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal earlier this year in order to apologise for his past antisemitic comments, reflecting on a "four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour" and saying that he “lost touch with reality.”
Still, many questioned the timing of his apology, considering the recent release of his new album ‘Bully’, and his past comments have led to various countries banning his performances.
The mayor of the southern city of Marseille, France's second-biggest city, recently stated he does not want West anywhere near his city.
Kanye West’s last UK performance was his Glastonbury headline set in 2015.
