Their presence is “not in the public interest”. Anti-Semitic comments, festival cancelled. There will be a concert in Portugal.
Kanye West he was prohibited not to enter United Kingdom. The British Government banned the North American rapper from entering due to anti-Semitic statements.
The musician, now known as Ye, had concerts scheduled for the Wireless Festival, London, in July this year – this festival already been canceled.
“The Home Office has revoked Ye’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), denying him entry to the United Kingdom,” reads the statement from promoter Festival Republic. “As a result, the Wireless Festival has been canceled and refunds will be issued to all ticket holders.”
West applied on Monday for an Electronic Travel Authorization to enter the UK, but was denied because “your presence is not in the public interest”reported , citing the British Home Office.
The rapper had declared, for his part, that he was willing to meet up with members of Jewish community British singer before her shows at the Wireless Festival, following the controversy surrounding her history of anti-Semitism, ensuring that this it is part of the past.
In January of this year, Kanye West publicly apologized, in an open letter in The Wall Street Journal, for his past behaviors – behaviors that, he claims, are a consequence of neurological problems after a car accident.
In that accident, he sustained an injury to the right frontal lobe of his brain. “This medical negligence caused serious damage to mine mental health and led to my diagnosis of type 1 bipolar disorder”, he wrote, while guaranteeing: “I’m not a Nazi or an anti-Semite.”
It is worth noting that, last year, after having spoken precisely about bipolar disorder, he corrected the diagnosis and said that he has autism. But in January he started talking about bipolar disorder again.
“Eu I lost touch with reality. I said and did things that regret deeply,” he wrote at the time.
Kanye West already sold out t-shirts with references to the regime nazi, has already published a song with the title Heil Hitler and has already left posts on social media such as “I love Hitler” and “I am a Nazi”.
In addition to this apology in January, the rapper released a statement today in which he stated that he was aware of the controversy.
“My only goal is to go to London and do a concert that promotes change, bringing unity, peace and love through my music”, read the statement published in the British media. “I would like the opportunity to meet in person with members of the UK Jewish community to listen to you. I know words are not enough. I will have to demonstrate change through my actions“, he wrote.
The rapper was announced as the headliner for the three nights of Wireless, scheduled for July 10th to 12th, at Finsbury Park, in London.
Today, Festival Republic, in the statement about the cancellation of Wireless, states that “various interested parties were consulted before hiring Ye and no concerns were raised at the time”.
“Anti-Semitism in all its forms is abhorrent and we recognize the real and personal impact these issues have had,” continues Festival Republic, which recalls West’s statement, adding that the rapper “still hopes to have the opportunity to begin a dialogue with the Jewish community in the United Kingdom.”
Several Jewish organizations had asked the British government to ban the rapper from entering the United Kingdom.
The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer had already condemned the invitation to the ‘rapper’. In an article published in the newspaper over the weekend, he considered “deeply worrying” that West had been hired, “despite anti-Semitic statements and praise for Nazism in the past.”
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also criticized the musician’s statements and highlighted that the city hall was not involved in the festival.
Festival Republic, which organizes Wireless, is part of Live Nation Entertainment, which presents itself as “the largest live entertainment company in the world” and operates on several fronts in this industry, in different countries, including Portugal.
Kanye West, 48 years old, who has a concert scheduled for Algarve Stadiumon August 7th.
