The British government is considering revoking the visa of American artist Kanye West. The British Immigration Service reported this to the Reuters news agency on Friday. There has been a fuss in the United Kingdom because West is the main act at the ‘Wireless’ festival in London in July, despite anti-Semitic statements and actions that the rapper made last year.
In May last year, West released a song called ‘Heil Hitler’. He also sold shirts with swastikas and posted anti-Semitic messages on X. West, who now calls himself Ye, later apologized and attributed his anti-Semitic comments and actions to bipolar disorder.
In January he wrote in a full-page advertisement The Wall Street Journal that “a four-month manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior” in early 2025 “destroyed his life.”
In June in the Netherlands
In the meantime, Ye gave several concerts again, last week in the United States. Two concerts are scheduled for June in the Gelredome in Arnhem. A well-attended ‘release party’ for Ye’s new album ‘Bully’ took place in Amsterdam last Friday (West himself was not present).
In the United Kingdom, his announcement as Wireless’s headline act led to sponsors withdrawing, putting the festival under enormous pressure. While the first tickets go on pre-sale on Tuesday and general ticket sales start on Wednesday, the question is whether the festival can still take place at all. Sponsors Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and drinks giant Diageo withdrew on Sunday and Monday.
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West’s visa is now being reviewed at ministerial level. Ministers can ban foreign individuals if their presence is not considered ‘conducive to the public good’, writes the BBC. In January, for example, Dutch radical right-wing activist Eva Vlaardingenbroek was denied entry to the UK for spreading disinformation, which led to parliamentary questions from Forum for Democracy in the Netherlands.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the prospect of West performing in his country “deeply worrying”. The Conservative opposition in the UK called for his visa to be revoked. The Jewish community organization Board of Deputies of British Jews is also calling for this. After the release of ‘Heil Hitler’, West was previously denied entry to Australia.
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