April 7, 2026, 10:21 amApril 7, 2026, 10:21 am
US scandal rapper Kanye West wants to meet with the Jewish community in Great Britain because of the controversy surrounding his planned appearances at a festival in London.
Kanye West wants to reconcile with the Jewish community in Great Britain.Image: keystone
“I know that words are not enough,” said the 48-year-old, who has repeatedly attracted attention with anti-Semitic and racist statements in the past, in a statement. He has to show through actions that he has changed.
West said he had followed the discussion about the Wireless Festival, which will be held in Finsbury Park in the summer (July 10-12). “My only goal is to come to London and be a sign of change – by conveying unity, peace and love through my music.” He would be “grateful for the opportunity” to meet in person with members of the Jewish community in the UK. “To listen,” West said.
After the announcement of the performances on the festival evenings, calls for an entry ban became louder in Great Britain, including from the activist group Campaign Against Antisemitism. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the plan as “deeply worrying”. Sponsors had withdrawn from the festival.
A song called “Heil Hitler”
The 48-year-old rapper, who now goes by the name Ye and performed in Los Angeles last week, released a song called “Heil Hitler” last year. At the beginning of 2026 he asked for an apology in the “Wall Street Journal”. “I am neither a Nazi nor an anti-Semite,” wrote Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband, attributing his previous statements to bipolar disorder.
One of the organizers of the Wireless Festival defended the decision to book the US rapper. What West 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 others who have commented on it – and, if you take him at his word, now also to Ye himself,” wrote Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic, in a statement to the PA news agency.
The rapper’s music is played on radio in the UK and is available via live streams and downloads, Benn said. West has the legal right to “enter this country and perform here.” “The plan is for him to come and perform,” he said. “We don’t give him a platform to spread any opinions, but only to perform the songs.” (dab/sda/dpa)