After Pepsi, Diageo is now withdrawing its sponsorship – because Kanye West is the headliner.
The Wireless Festival is losing its long-time partner Pepsi. Now Diageo is also following suit. On Sunday, April 6th, the beverage companies announced their withdrawal as sponsors of the festival.
This was in response to rapper Kanye West being booked as a headliner on all three nights. The reactions after the lineup was announced were mostly negative. Not only voices from the Internet, but also London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the festival organizers for the booking. “It is deeply disturbing that Kanye West was booked for the Wireless despite his history of making anti-Semitic statements and glorifying Nazism,” Starmer said.
West had repeatedly made anti-Semitic statements in the past. Last summer he also released a song called “H**l Hitler”.
Earlier this year he apologized in the Wall Street Journal. Due to his bipolar disorder and a brain injury, he allegedly said and did things that he now deeply regrets. However, the apology came in time for the release of his new album and is often seen as a marketing strategy.
Pepsi ends sponsorship after politicians protest
As a result of the Prime Minister’s comments, main sponsor Pepsi announced that it would no longer support the 2026 festival. The Guardian reported: “Pepsi has decided to end its sponsorship of the Wireless Festival.” The festival has been sponsored under the name “Pepsi MAX Presents Wireless” since 2015 – around ten years.
Other sponsors are withdrawing
Now another sponsor has withdrawn: the drinks manufacturer Diageo, behind brands such as Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan. A spokesman announced this after Pepsi’s exit. PayPal and Rockstar Energy also distanced themselves from the festival.
This means that several main sponsors will be eliminated. The organizers have not yet commented on the loss of the donors.
Festival boss defends the booking
On Monday, April 6, Melvin Benn, CEO of the festival’s parent company, spoke out and defended the decision to book Kanye West: “Having had someone in my life with mental illness for 15 years, I have experienced many episodes of reprehensible behavior that I have had to forgive and put behind me. If I wasn’t before, I am now a person of forgiveness and hope – in all areas of my life, including professionally.” However, he clarified: “What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Adolf Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the prime minister and other commentators. And, if you take him at his word, now to Ye himself.”
The festival does not want to offer the rapper a platform to spread opinions, but only to perform his songs. These are played on the radio anyway and are heard by millions of people via streaming platforms.
