Political commentator Matthew Stadlen has launched a scathing attack after it was announced that Kanye West will be headlining Wireless Festival. GB News was halted to reveal that a second sponsor had withdrawn from the festival as backlash to West’s booking continues to grow. Pepsi said it was pulling out as the festival’s main sponsor, closely followed by Diageo, owner of the Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan brands, who confirmed the same evening that it had also withdrawn.
Stadlen has joined Keir Starmer, Sadiq Khan and other Jewish leaders in criticising the festival for hiring the disgraced rapper, known as Ye, to headline the three-day music event. Speaking on GB News, he fumed: “From someone on the left, not the hard left but the centre left, and someone who is half-Jewish by heritage, this is my view.
“There is antisemitism on the hard left and I spent quite a bit of time last week addressing that. Absolute filth came back to me when I was calling out the attacks on those ambulances.”
He continued: “We don’t want Islamic extremists in this country and we don’t want neo-Nazis in this country. I am in favour of free speech but as we all know, there are limitations of free speech under the law.
“I think it is disgraceful that we haven’t heard from them. Wireless have invited this man to perform at his festival and I think he should be banned from this country.
“He took out a full page advert in January, apologising to the Jewish people, but he also apologised to Jews in 2023.”
He added: “After that, he brought out t-shirts with swastikas on them and then came up with a song called Heil Hitler. The man is a neo-Nazi as far as I’m concerned. Keep him out of our country.”
The prime minister told the Sun on Sunday: “It is deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism.
“Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe.”
West will headline all three days of Wireless Festival from July 10-12, with 50,000 tickets available for each night.
