Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, has spoken out for the first time about the controversy surrounding his upcoming performances at the Wireless music festival.
Last week, it was confirmed that the Grammy-winning rapper had been booked to perform at all three nights of Wireless at London’s Finsbury Park in July.
In the days that followed, this announcement has been heavily criticized due to Ye’s history of antisemitic comments and actions in 2025, which included praising Adolf Hitler, declaring himself to be a Nazi, selling a t-shirt on his web store emblazoned with a swastika and releasing a single titled “Heil Hitler”.
Ye — who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016 — issued a public apology for his behavior in a full-page magazine ad in January 2026 addressed “to those I’ve hurt” with his antisemitic outbursts, which he explained had come during a months-long manic episode where he said he had “lost touch with reality”.
Among the most vocal critics of the Wireless booking were numerous leading UK-based Jewish groups, London mayor Sadiq Khan and even UK prime minister Keir Starmer, who said it was “deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism.”
