A spokesperson for Pepsi, the festival\u2019s top sponsor, told AFP on Sunday that the brand \u201chas decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival,\u201d without giving a reason.<\/p>\n
Diageo, whose labels Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan were slated to be partner brands, also dropped out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have informed the organizers of our concerns and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless Festival,\u201d a spokesman told AFP.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n The festival\u2019s operating company, Live Nation, has not so far responded to a request for comment.<\/p>\n \t West sold out<\/a> his first major US performance in nearly five years at a SoFi concert in Southern California last week.<\/p>\n British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed concern about West\u2019s upcoming appearances in the UK given the rapper\u2019s history of antisemitism.<\/p>\n Starmer told The Sun newspaper it was \u201cdeeply concerning Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that \u201cantisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted firmly.\u201d<\/p>\n \t The British festival\u2019s organizers announced West\u2019s appearance on social media last month, prompting criticism from Jewish organizations and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who nonetheless said it was not a matter for municipal involvement.<\/p>\n Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British charity, on Sunday urged Starmer not to be a \u201cbystander\u201d and to ban West from entering the country.<\/p>\n \u201cSurely this is a clear case,\u201d the charity said on X, suggesting West could be banned as a non-citizen whose presence is not \u201cconducive to the public good.\u201d<\/p>\n West\u2019s planned European tour has already provoked controversy. In France, the mayor of Marseille said the rapper was \u201cnot welcome\u201d for a concert there in June.<\/p>\n \t In May 2025, West bought a Super Bowl ad to promote T-shirts with swastikas on them, then released a song titled \u201cHeil Hitler,\u201d to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.<\/p>\n The song was banned by major streaming platforms but a group of far-right antisemitic influencers, including Nick Fuentes, played the song earlier this year at a Miami nightclub in a viral incident.<\/p>\n Ye released his latest album, \u201cBully,\u201d under both the names Ye and Kanye West, at the end of March.<\/p>\n He dominated hip-hop and pop charts in the 2000s and early 2010s, winning 24 Grammy Awards despite public outbursts.<\/p>\n He lost nearly all his major business partnerships and many fans after a string of controversies in the last several years, including antisemitic remarks and social media posts.<\/p>\n Ye has repeatedly alienated the global Jewish community and broad swaths of his fanbase since fall 2022, when he first threatened to go \u201cdeath con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.\u201d<\/p>\n He has since expressed regret<\/a> over his multiple antisemitic rants, which he blamed on his bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n The United Kingdom is seeing soaring antisemitic attacks and incidents, with many in the Jewish community blaming authorities for not taking strong enough action on the matter.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AFP__20250203__2197299756__v2__HighRes__67thAnnualGrammyAwardsArrivals-e1739252443340-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tKanye West attends the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 2, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Matt Winkelmeyer \/ Getty Images North America \/ Getty Images via AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26091357864670-e1775041186441-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tBritain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference at Downing Street in London, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Frank Augstein)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/000_19Y46F-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tThen-US president Donald Trump meets with rapper Kanye West in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, October 11, 2018. (SEBASTIAN SMITH\/AFP)<\/p>\n
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