Days after US rapper Kanye West was announced as the headliner for all nights of this year’s Wireless Festival, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday (local time) it was “deeply worrying” that he was set to perform, the Sun reported.
West, who is now known as Ye, has drawn widespread criticism for anti-Semitic comments he has made over the past few years, for which he apologized in January 2026.
In response to West’s upcoming performance, Starmer said the American rapper had been booked “despite his previous anti-Semitic remarks and glorification of Nazism”. He noted: “Anti-Semitism in any form is abhorrent and must be dealt with firmly wherever it occurs.
He went on to say that everyone has a responsibility to ensure that Britain is a place where Jews feel safe. Starmer’s stance comes as the UK reports high tensions among Jews following a spate of anti-Semitic attacks. This included the shooting of two men in a synagogue in Manchester in October last year.
According to a BBC report, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said earlier on Thursday that the UK government should ban Westerners from the country, saying it “needs to be tougher on anti-Semitism”. He even called West’s planned visit to the country “extremely serious.”
The report further stated that the Ministry of Interior has not yet received West’s application to enter the country.
West’s anti-Semitic remarks
This isn’t the first time West’s statements have sparked controversy. In 2025, he was banned from entering Australia after the release of his song titled “Heil Hitler”, which glorified the Nazi leader.
The 48-year-old rapper previously came out as a Nazi in 2025 and later retracted the apology he issued for his anti-Semitic remarks. In addition, he sold swastika T-shirts on his clothing website.
He also held a meeting with Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto in November 2025, where he reportedly apologized for his previous statements against Jews. In January of this year, West published a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal apologizing for his anti-Semitic behavior.
West wrote in the ad: “I am not a Nazi or anti-Semitic.” He went on to say that bipolar disorder can cause a person to be unaware of their illness during manic episodes, adding that they have “lost touch with reality”.
West’s X account was banned in 2022
In 2022, his X account was banned several times for posts that violated the platform’s rules. The ban was imposed after he posted several offensive tweets that included an image that appeared to show a symbol combining a swastika and a Star of David and said he was going to “death con 3 On Jewish People”.
West’s UK tour
The tour will be his first in the UK since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015. Commenting on West’s comeback, the festival organizer noted that his comeback will be an extraordinary chapter in the story of Wireless. Scheduled for July 10-12, the rapper will perform songs spanning his entire discography during his appearance at Finsbury Park.
