{"id":360205,"date":"2026-04-02T11:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/360205\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T11:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:24:10","slug":"london-mayor-sadiq-khan-hits-out-at-kanye-west-headlining-wireless-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/360205\/","title":{"rendered":"London Mayor Sadiq Khan hits out at Kanye West headlining Wireless 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has hit out at the news of Kanye West headlining Wireless 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rapper was announced to headline all three nights of the Finsbury Park festival<\/a> on Monday (March 30) \u2013 marking Ye\u2019s first UK gigs in a decade. His last festival headline set was at Wireless in 2014,<\/a> while the Chicago rapper also played a guest-packed show \u2013 featuring the likes of Skepta<\/a>,\u00a0JME<\/a>,\u00a0Vic Mensa<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Raekwon<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 during a surprise gig at London\u2019s Koko in 2015.<\/p>\n

However, groups such as the Jewish Leadership Council and Campaign Against Anti-Semitism have criticised Ye\u2019s headline slot<\/a>, the former of whom called the move \u201cdeeply irresponsible\u201d (via\u00a0The Guardian<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Now, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has spoken out against Ye\u2019s upcoming appearance at the festival. In a press statement released yesterday (April 1), Khan wrote: \u201cWe are clear that the past comments and actions of this artist are offensive and wrong, and are simply not reflective of London\u2019s values\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a decision taken by the festival organizers and not one that City Hall is involved in.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for London mayor Sadiq Khan has issued a statement on Ye headlining Wireless this summer:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are clear the past comments\/actions of this artist are offensive and wrong, and are simply not reflective of London\u2019s values.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a decision taken by the festival\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/m3HqD1lxFd<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kurrco (@Kurrco) April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

West has repeatedly come under fire for his anti-Semitic comments, which began when \u00a0he made a series of offensive comments on social media in 2022. His remarks saw his accounts on both Instagram and Twitter sites suspended,<\/a> and the musician was\u00a0dropped by his lawyer, talent agency<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0record label.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fashion brands such as Balenciaga<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Adidas<\/a> also cut ties with West, with\u00a0celebrities and politicians around the world condemning his comments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Doubling down on his behaviour at first, West would claim\u00a0he didn\u2019t \u201cbelieve\u201d in the term anti-Semitism<\/a> and\u00a0refuse to apologise for making the comments<\/a> during an interview with Piers Morgan, further telling Jewish people to \u201cforgive Hitler\u201d<\/a> in a December 2022 interview with far-right commentator Gavin McInnes. West would then\u00a0apologise to the Jewish community<\/a> in 2023, before blaming alcohol for the comments the following year.<\/a><\/p>\n

Since that initial apology, West has been hit with numerous lawsuits, with one former employee alleging that the rapper said Jewish people were \u201cworking together to hold him back\u201d<\/a>. Another former employee claimed he used antisemitic language in the workplace and praised Hitler<\/a> \u2013 something which he allegedly paid a settlement for. In 2024, a separate ex-employee\u00a0accused him of being openly anti-Semitic in front of his staff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After sharing a spate of highly controversial posts in early 2025<\/a>, when he took back an apology he previously made to the Jewish community for anti-Semitic remarks<\/a>, and then declared himself \u201ca Nazi\u201d, West claimed\u00a0on X\/Twitter that, \u201cafter further reflection\u201d, he\u2019d \u201ccome to the realisation that I\u2019m not a Nazi\u201d<\/a>. But this was followed\u00a0only a few days later by yet more swastika apparel appearing on his X page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rapper would then make a series of apologies to the Jewish community again, holding a meeting with a rabbi and apologising for his anti-Semitic comments<\/a> last November. West would also take\u00a0out a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal\u00a0apologising for his actions.<\/p>\n

He went on to clarify that his recent apology for his past anti-Semitic comments\u00a0<\/a>was\u00a0not about his new album \u2018BULLY\u2019 \u2013 which was released last weekend \u2013 or an attempt to \u201crevive\u201d his career<\/a>\u00a0while also sharing details of\u00a0his bipolar type-1 diagnosis<\/a>, which\u00a0he\u2019d dismissed early last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In other news,\u00a0James Blake<\/a>\u00a0has\u00a0asked to be taken off producer credits for \u2018BULLY\u2019, saying the final result is \u201cnot what I created\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n