In a move no one saw coming, Kanye West made a rare statement expressing remorse over the Wireless Festival controversy.
The rapper, who changed his name to Ye, said he was open to having a sit-down with Jewish groups and convince them that he is willing to “change.”
His latest statement came after politicians and stars like David Schwimmer slammed the festival’s organizers for choosing Ye to headline.
Highlights
- Kanye West, formerly known as Ye, released a statement following the backlash over his upcoming performance at a UK music festival.
- Celebrities, politicians, and members of the Jewish community expressed their disdain over Ye headlining the event.
- David Schwimmer praised big brands for withdrawing their sponsorship and said he wasn't buying Ye's apology.
David Schwimmer joined the voices criticizing the organizers of the Wireless Festival for choosing Kanye West to headline
Image credits: Dominik Bindl / Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Months remain for Ye to take the stage at the UK’s three-day Wireless Festival, scheduled from July 10 to 12.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it “deeply concerning” that the controversial rap mogul would be headlining the music festival after repeatedly making antisemitic statements in recent years.
His show of hate towards Jewish people included releasing a song called He*l H*tler and displaying a sw*stika T-shirt for sale on his website.
Image credits: Daniele Dalledonne/flickr
Image credits: RikLeons
Major brands like Diageo, Rockstar Energy, and PayPal confirmed that they were withdrawing their sponsorships from the Wireless Festival.
Even Pepsi, which has co-branded the event as “Pepsi MAX Presents Wireless” for over a decade, did not want to be associated with the festival or have its branding on promotional materials.
In light of the fierce backlash, Ye released a statement saying he would be “grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person.”
Ye released a statement saying he was willing to “listen” to members of the UK's Jewish community and “change”
Image credits: SkyNews
“I've been following the conversation around Wireless, and I want to address it directly,” the Heartless rapper said in a Tuesday statement.
“My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music,” he continued.
He said he was willing to meet with members of the UK’s Jewish community “to listen” to what they had to say.
Image credits: MattSchrader
“I know words aren’t enough — I’ll have to show change through my actions,” he said. “If you’re open, I’m here. With Love.”
One Jewish group in the UK, the Jewish Leadership Council, was quick to respond to Ye’s statement. They outright rejected the offer to meet with him and slammed the festival’s organizers, saying they should be “ashamed” for inviting the rapper for three days.
“Kanye West's recent history of vile antisemitism was fully known to the festival organizers when they invited him,” the Jewish Leadership Council wrote on X.
The rap mogul's comments came after major brands like Pepsi, PayPal and Diageo withdrew their sponsorship
Image credits: MarinaMedvin
“Now with the entirely predictable backlash they are facing, the British Jewish community is being asked to help save their festival,” they continued. “We are not going to meet Kanye West for that purpose.”
Ye’s Tuesday statements came after the British government said it was still considering whether the Grammy-winning rapper should even be allowed into the country.
Meanwhile, Friends star David Schwimmer criticized the festival organizers and praised major brands like Pepsi, PayPal, and Diageo for withdrawing their sponsorship.
“It’s great to see companies with moral clarity,” he wrote on social media.
“Unlike Wireless and Festival Republic, they decided not to platform an artist who became one of the most recognizable hate-mongering bigots in the world…” he added.
Schwimmer also spoke about the full-page apology Ye published in the Wall Street Journal in January this year.
David Schwimmer slammed the festival’s organizers and said he wasn't buying Ye's January apology
Image credits: MakingAScenePod
“To Those I’ve Hurt,” Ye wrote in the full-page Wall Street Journal message.
“I am not a N*zi or an antisemite,” he said in the open letter. “I love Jewish people.”
He blamed his antisemitic remarks on his bipolar disorder, which led to a “four-month-long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed [his] life.”
Image credits: Jason Broersma/flickr
Image credits: _BlessedKingg_
Image credits: puteromaximo_
Schwimmer said in his social media statement this month that he wasn’t buying the Wall Street Journal apology.
“Remember: Ye’s apologized before, only to retract that apology and double down on his virulent hatred of Jewish people,” the actor wrote.
The Friends star spoke about Ye blaming his antisemitic remarks on his bipolar disorder
Image credits: MakingAScenePod
He went on to say that an apology is just “words on paper,” an “advertisement, generating publicity before a concert tour.”
“It does not erase years of ab*se … It’s fine for his famous pals to pat him on the back and say, ‘It’s all good,’” he said. “But the community he has harmed most has no reason to trust his apology is authentic.”
Meanwhile, Melvin Benn, managing director at Festival Republic, which promotes Wireless Festival, defended the choice to let Ye headline the event.
He called the rapper’s past comments “abhorrent” but said he wasn’t being given the stage to “extol opinion of whatever nature.”
Ye was only being given a platform 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,” said Benn, who described him as a “person of forgiveness.”
“He was on a (psychotic) break,” a social media user commented online
Image credits: J_S__L
Image credits: charles_fm12
Image credits: Yoniem5
Image credits: kavittivak
Image credits: eikoraku
Image credits: LeoGoneSavage
Image credits: OpusMiraculous
Image credits: kryptokenni
Image credits: DamLux59719
Image credits: EcuadorianJAM