The United Kingdom has blocked United States rapper Kanye West from entering the country, citing his anti-Semitic comments and celebrations of Nazism.
The rapper, now known as Ye, submitted an application on Monday to travel to Britain, having been booked to headline a summer festival. However, London has refused the request on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good, the BBC reported, citing a Home Office statement issued on Tuesday.
The organisers of the Wireless Festival in London, at which West was booked to play in July, have cancelled the entire event and said refunds would be issued to all ticket holders.
West had offered to meet members of the British Jewish community, as the row festered earlier on Tuesday, saying his only goal was to come to London and present a show of change, “bringing unity, peace and love through music”.
“I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen,” he said. “I know words aren’t enough – I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here.”
The event’s organisers had been under mounting pressure from sponsors and politicians to cancel the gigs by the rapper, who has drawn widespread condemnation for making anti-Semitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler.
Last year, he released a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website.
West has performed in the US and Mexico City this year, but was barred from Australia last July.
He took a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal in January to apologise, attributing his behaviour to an untreated bipolar disorder.
But British government minister Wes Streeting told UK broadcasters on Tuesday that he regarded West using bipolar disorder “to justify his actions” as “appalling”.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at the weekend it was “deeply concerning” that West had been booked despite “his previous anti-Semitic remarks and celebration of Nazism“.
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, had said earlier that the group would be willing to meet West if he pulled out of Wireless.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, which had called for the government to intervene, said it had “clearly made the right decision here”.
“For once, when it said that antisemitism has no place in the UK, it backed up its words with action,” it said in a statement.
West’s European comeback tour has already provoked controversy. In France, the mayor of Marseille said the rapper was “not welcome” for a concert there in June.
