Topline The U.K.’s Wireless festival announced it was canceled this year’s event amid controversy surrounding Kanye West as a headliner, after the rapper was denied entry to the country Tuesday. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 22: Kanye West attends the Balenciaga Spring 2023 Fashion Show at the New York Stock Exchange on May 22, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)GC ImagesKey FactsWest, who has changed his name to Ye, applied Monday for U.K. entry but had his request denied by the British government because his presence in the country would not be “conducive to the public good,” the BBC reported Tuesday.Wireless Festival subsequently canceled this year’s event and will issue refunds to all ticket holders, it announced Tuesday. The cancellation came after public outcry at the announcement of West as headliner due to his history of antisemitic behavior. Several British leaders called for him to be barred from entering the country over his “pattern of behavior” that has caused harm to Jewish communities, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “deeply concerned” about West's scheduled appearance. When West was announced as the festival headliner, sponsors like Pepsi, Diageo, Rockstar Energy and PayPal backed out of the event. In the statement Tuesday, organizers of the festival said “antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had” despite having previously defended booking West as the headliner. The U.K. is just the latest country to take a stand against the artist: the mayor of Marseille, France last month effectively canceled a planned June concert and Australian officials last year revoked his visa in 2025 after he released a song called “Heil Hitler.” Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here: joinsubtext.com/forbes.Key BackgroundWest’s history of antisemitism spans years. His widely condemned antisemitic outbursts began in earnest in October 2022, when a now-infamous conversation between West and Tucker Carlson was leaked and revealed Fox News had edited certain comments out of a broadcast, including that “Planned Parenthood was made… with the KKK to control the Jew population” and referencing the theory that Jewish people control the nation’s financial institutions. In the year that followed, West wore a "White Lives Matter" shirt (a slogan associated with a neo-Nazi group), openly praised Hitler and made a series of bizarre interviews and social media posts that led to him being restricted on Instagram and briefly suspended from Twitter. He then lost a majority of his business partners—and his billionaire status—and stepped out of the public eye before last year claiming he’d been newly diagnosed with autism. Days later, he started posting bizarre comments on X—including that he was “NEVER APOLOGIZING FOR MY JEWISH COMMENTS” and “IM A NAZI." He ran a Super Bowl ad in the Los Angeles area last year directing people to yeezy.com, his fashion brand's website, where a $20 plain white T-shirt with a black swastika printed on the front was the only item available for sale. In June, he released a song called “Heil Hitler” that was banned on most streaming platforms. In January, he took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal addressing his years of antisemitism, blaming it on a decades-old brain injury. He asked for “patience and understanding,” claiming to be ”committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change.” Before the festival was canceled Tuesday, West had offered to meet with members of the Jewish community in the U.K. What To Watch ForIf any other shows are canceled. West has planned a global tour after a pair of shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles earlier this month reportedly grossed a combined $33 million. One show reportedly made more than $18 million in ticket sales, making it one of the highest-grossing single shows in live music history. Other shows are scheduled for New Delhi, Istanbul, the Netherlands, London, Madrid, Italy and Portugal. Further ReadingForbesKanye West Settles Another Copyright Lawsuit Days Before New Album DropsBy Conor MurrayForbesKanye West Blames Brain Injury For Years Of Antisemitic Rhetoric In WSJ AdBy Mary Whitfill RoeloffsForbesKanye West Wears Swastika T-Shirt Around Los Angeles, Report SaysBy Conor Murray