Kanye West Breaks Silence Amid Wireless Festival Backlash

Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, has spoken out for the first time about the controversy surrounding his upcoming performances at the Wireless music festival.

Last week, it was confirmed that the Grammy-winning rapper had been booked to perform at all three nights of Wireless at London’s Finsbury Park in July.

In the days that followed, this announcement has been heavily criticised due to Ye’s history of antisemitic comments and actions in 2025, which included praising Adolf Hitler, declaring himself to be a Nazi, selling a t-shirt on his web store emblazoned with a swastika and releasing a single titled “Heil Hitler”.

Ye – who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016 – issued a public apology for his behaviour in a full-page magazine ad in January 2026 addressed “to those I’ve hurt” with his antisemitic outbursts, which he explained had come during a months-long manic episode where he said he had “lost touch with reality”.

Among the most vocal critics of the Wireless booking were numerous leading UK-based Jewish groups, London mayor Sadiq Khan and even UK prime minister Keir Starmer, who said it was “deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism”.

On Tuesday morning, Ye issued a fresh statement, saying: “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.”

He signed off the message “with love, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West”.

The organisers of Wireless have also defended the choice to keep Ye as their headliner for 2026, with managing director Melvin Benn saying: “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.”

“Having had a person in my life for the last 15 years who suffers from mental illness, I have witnessed many episodes of despicable behaviour that I have had to forgive and move on from,” Benn added.

“If I wasn’t before, I have become a person of forgiveness and hope in all aspects of my life, including work.”

Two months on from his public apology, the Touch The Sky musician released his 12th studio album Bully at the end of March.

Bully reached number three in the UK, and number two across the Atlantic, with lead single Father also peaking at number 27 here.

Ye previously dismissed the suggestion that his apology was a “PR move” intended to help him “release music” and “operate [his] businesses” as he had before the backlash he sparked controversies 2025.

After pointing out his music had continued to pull in huge streaming numbers despite backlash, Ye insisted to Vanity Fair: “This isn’t about reviving my commerciality. This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit.

“I owe a huge apology once again for everything that I said that hurt the Jewish and Black communities in particular. All of it went too far. I look at wreckage of my episode and realise that this isn’t who I am.

“As a public figure, so many people follow and listen to my every word. It’s important that they realise and understand what side of history that I want to stand on.”