Kanye West blocked from entering UK over pro-Hitler, anti-Jewish comments

The UK government has blocked rapper Kanye West, known as Ye, from entering the country following backlash over his past antisemitic comments.

A three-day festival in London, which he was meant to headline, was subsequently cancelled.

Organisers of the Wireless Festival said that ticket holders will receive refunds after the decision, reported the BBC.

Pro-Nazi, pro-Hitler

West has faced widespread criticism in recent years over antisemitic and pro-Nazi remarks, including saying in 2022 he saw “good things about Hitler,” according to the BBC.

In May 2025, he released a song called "Heil Hitler" and sold swastika-bearing merchandise.

He later apologised in a letter published in The Wall Street Journal earlier this year.

Before the travel decision was announced, West said he wanted the chance to engage directly with the Jewish community.

“I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen,” he said.

UK blocks Ye from entering country

West had applied for an electronic travel authorisation to enter the United Kingdom but was refused permission on the grounds that his presence would not be “conducive to the public good”, the Home Office told the BBC.

The festival would have marked his first UK performances in more than a decade.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the rapper should not have been booked in the first place.

“Kanye West should never have been invited to headline Wireless,” Starmer said in a statement.

“This government stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism.”

Festival cancelled after mounting pressure

Organisers said they had consulted stakeholders before confirming West as headliner, and "no concerns were highlighted at the time".

But they ultimately decided to cancel the event.

“Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had,” organisers said in a statement.

Sponsors including Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and Diageo had already pulled out after West was announced as the headline act, per the Associated Press (AP).

Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn had earlier urged audiences to give the artist “forgiveness and hope.”

“We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country,” Benn said in a statement.

Top image via Kanye West/Facebook, Wireless Festival/Facebook