Kanye West Blocked From Travelling To UK Amid Controversy Over Wireless Booking

The US rapper Ye has been banned from travelling to the UK ahead of his scheduled performances at this year’s Wireless music festival.

Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – had been booked to headline all three nights of the London festival in July, leading to widespread controversy due to his past antisemitic comments and actions.

London mayor Sadiq Khan and UK prime minister Keir Starmer were among those to raise questions about the booking, as well as many leading UK-based Jewish groups, some of whom went as far as questioning whether the Grammy winner should even be allowed to travel to the UK.

It’s now been revealed that Ye’s performances will no longer be able to go ahead, due to his right to travel to the UK being nixed by the Home Office.

Government sources told HuffPost UK that the decision was made on the grounds that his presence in the UK “would not be conducive to the public good”.

After the release of a single titled Heil Hitler, his Australian work visa was also cancelled last year.

Ye – who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016 – issued a public apology for his behaviour in a full-page magazine ad in January 2026 addressed “to those I’ve hurt” with his antisemitic outbursts.

In the public statement, he explained had his comments had come during a months-long manic episode where he said he had “lost touch with reality”.

Following the controversy around his planned Wireless sets, Ye issued a fresh statement, saying: “I’ve been following the conversation around Wireless and want to address it directly. My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music.

“I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen. I know words aren’t enough – I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here.”

Ye previously dismissed the suggestion that his apology was a “PR move” intended to help him “release music” and “operate [his] businesses” as he had before the backlash he sparked controversies 2025.

“This isn’t about reviving my commerciality,” he told Vanity Fair. “This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit.

“I owe a huge apology once again for everything that I said that hurt the Jewish and Black communities in particular. All of it went too far. I look at wreckage of my episode and realise that this isn’t who I am.

“As a public figure, so many people follow and listen to my every word. It’s important that they realise and understand what side of history that I want to stand on.”