Pepsi withdraws as main sponsor of Wireless Festival amid Kanye West backlash

By Alexandra Snow, Press Association

Pepsi has withdrawn its sponsorship of Wireless Festival in London after Kanye West was announced as the headline act.

The rapper, who has been condemned for antisemitism, is set to top the bill for all three nights of the festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July.

The soft drinks company was the main sponsor of the festival, promoting the event under the branding “Pepsi presents Wireless”.

But on Sunday, amid a backlash which included criticism from the British Prime Minister, a Pepsi spokesperson said: “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.”

The musician – who has not performed in the UK since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015 – has drawn widespread criticism in recent years after he began voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler, and has made a series of antisemitic remarks.

Last year, he released a song called Heil Hitler, a few months after advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website.

West, also known as Ye, has been barred from X over antisemitism on multiple occasions.

Keir Starmer joined criticism of the music festival, saying: “It is deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism.

“Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted clearly and firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe and secure.”

The 48-year-old rapper’s scheduled appearance comes amid fears of growing antisemitism in the UK.

In March, four ambulances from a Jewish community-run service were set on fire in north-west London.

Two men and a 17-year-old boy were remanded in custody on Saturday after appearing in court accused of torching the vehicles.

In October last year, two men were killed in an attack on a Manchester synagogue.

Jewish community organisations have criticised the festival, with Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews calling it the “wrong decision” and called on the Government to consider barring him from entering the country.

And Holocaust Educational Trust chief executive Karen Pollock said: “It just says that, somehow, antisemitism, anti-Jewish hatred, is acceptable.”

In January, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise, titled: “To Those I’ve Hurt.”

“I am not a Nazi or an antisemite,” it said. “I love Jewish people.”

In his letter, he said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month-long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life”.

Wireless Festival has been contacted for comment.