The Jewish Leadership Council and the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism have today (March 31) condemned Wireless festival for booking Kanye West as this year’s headliner.
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Yesterday (March 30), it was announced that West will headline all three nights of the 2026 edition of Wireless Festival, which is set to take place between 10-12 July in London’s Finsbury Park.
This would mark West’s first UK performance in over a decade – and his first London festival headline set since he topped the bill at Wireless in 2014. He last played a guest-packed show – featuring the likes of Skepta, JME, Vic Mensa and Raekwon – during a surprise gig at London’s Koko in 2015.
However, the move to book West for Wireless has drawn intense criticism from groups including The Jewish Leadership Council and the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism on account of the musician’s previous anti-semitic comments.
The Jewish Leadership Council condemned Wireless for booking West, calling the organisers of the festival “deeply irresponsible” (via The Guardian).
A spokesperson told the outlet: “It is deeply irresponsible for Wireless festival to be headlining Kanye West. The UK Jewish community is facing record levels of antisemitism, including a terrorist attack in Manchester, the attack on ambulances in Golders Green and foiled plots which would have killed many more.
“West has repeatedly used his platform to spread antisemitism and pro-Nazi messaging. His most recent apology must be considered in the context that he went on to sell swastika T-shirts and release a song called Heil Hitler after apologising previously. Any venue or festival should reconsider before providing their platform to Kanye West to spread his antisemitism.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), the UK’s leading charity fighting antisemitism, also condemned the move in a statement provided to Far Out.
A spokesperson for the charity told the outlet: “Kanye West has dedicated years of his life to trying to incite his followers to hate Jews. He has more followers than there are Jews on Earth, so his incitement has a huge impact. His cycle of apology and relapse has become a routine, so as with any addict once again we must wait to see if this time is any different.”
NME has reached out to Wireless Festival for comment.
Accusations of anti-semitism against the rapper first arose in 2022 when he made a series of offensive comments on social media – which saw his accounts on both Instagram and Twitter sites suspended.
Soon afterwards, he was dropped by his lawyer, talent agency and record label, while several fashion brands – including Balenciaga and Adidas – ended their partnerships with him, and celebrities and politicians around the world condemned his comments.
He would later go on to say he didn’t “believe” in the term anti-Semitism in an interview with News Nation‘s Chris Cuomo, and refused to apologise for making the comments during an interview with Piers Morgan. In December 2022, he also sat down with far-right commentator Gavin McInnes and told Jewish people to “forgive Hitler”.
In 2023 he eventually apologised to the Jewish community, before blaming alcohol for the comments the following year.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed against him for his comments over the years. One former employee alleged that the rapper said Jewish people were “working together to hold him back”, later a former employee alleged he used antisemitic language in the workplace and praised Hitler – something which he allegedly paid a settlement for – and former TMZ staffer Van Lathan also claimed the star had praised “Hitler and the Nazis” during an interview at the publication’s headquarters in 2018.
In 2024, he faced another lawsuit by an ex-employee, who accused him of being openly anti-Semitic in front of his staff. The rapper also shared numerous highly controversial posts in early 2025, when he took back an apology he previously made to the Jewish community for anti-semitic remarks, and then declared himself “a Nazi”.
He later said on X/Twitter that, “after further reflection”, he’d “come to the realisation that I’m not a Nazi”. But this was followed only a few days later by yet more swastika apparel appearing on his X page.
West shared numerous highly controversial posts in early 2025 too, when he took back an apology to the Jewish community for his previous anti-semitic remarks, and declared himself “a Nazi”. He later said on X/Twitter that, “after further reflection”, he’d “come to the realisation that I’m not a Nazi”. But this was followed only a few days later by yet more swastika apparel appearing on his X page.
Last November, West held a meeting with a rabbi and apologised for his anti-Semitic comments.
Then, in January, West took out a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal apologising for his actions. He also went on to say that his recent apology for his past anti-Semitic comments was not about his forthcoming new album – which was released last weekend – or an attempt to “revive” his career while also sharing details of his bipolar type-1 diagnosis, which he’d dismissed early last year.
The news of the rapper headlining Wireless comes just days after West premiered his 12th studio album with a YouTube livestream last Friday (March 27) and later made it available to listen to on most major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
Ye has also announced an album launch show in Los Angeles, set for April 3, and confirmed more European dates for this year, marking his first headline dates on the continent in 12 years.
Alongside the album, the rapper shared the music video for ‘Father’, the track that features a verse from Travis Scott. Announcing the track list last week, West said there was no AI used in its creation, contradicting what he had said last year when he claimed that he had incorporated the technology into his writing process in “the same way I incorporated Auto-Tune”.
Since the album’s release, Ye’s collaborator James Blake has asked to be taken off the producer credits, saying the final result is “not what I created”.
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