The organizers of Wireless Festival are helping end an 11-year performance drought in the UK for Kanye West. The controversial rapper is going to serve as the headlining act for all three nights of the event. It kicks off on July 10 and ends July 12.
While his staunch defenders are taking victory laps, the general public isn't too happy about this booking. Of course, that all stems from his past Antisemitic rants and songs glorifying the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler.
It's currently driving London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, up a wall as well. So much so, that one of his reps issued a statement on his behalf.
Caught by Kurrco, his spokesperson communicates that he's really unhappy with the decision to book Ye. "We are clear the past comments/actions of this artist are offensive and wrong and are simply not reflective of London’s values."
However, it seems this was something that Khan had no control over. "This was a decision taken by the festival organizers and not one City Hall is involved in," the rep added.
Overall, these comments are receiving some eye rolls from social media users. One person replies, "politicians love to lecture about values but rarely wield actual power when it conflicts with private organizers or ticket sales."
Another adds, "They always separate themselves once the backlash starts. Same pattern every time."
Kanye West's Upcoming Performances
But while folks like Sadiq Khan are pretty peeved about this development, there's not much that can be done.
It seems like Kanye West's brief apology tour with Wall Street Journal and a Jewish rabbi have put him back in the spotlight.
Ye has plenty of other shows lined up for this year, including in places that haven't let him perform in some time. One of those in Los Angeles, which is allowing two performances at SoFi Stadium today and on April 3.
These are a part of his global tour which will see him take stages in countries like Portugal, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and France as well. His run is ending on August 7 as of now at Estadio Algarve in Portugal. But that could change given the positive reception from his fans for Bully.
