The United Kingdom has revoked the entry permit of American rapper Kanye West, who was invited to perform at London's Wireless Festival this summer despite controversy surrounding his anti-Semitic and racist remarks in recent years, the BBC reports.
The move was preceded by criticism from Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the government's announcement of a visa review. The organizers' defense, calling for a "second chance" for the American rapper, was in vain, as was his willingness to meet in person with members of the outraged British Jewish community to apologize.
"It is deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at the Wireless Festival, given his previous anti-Semitic comments and his apologia for Nazism," Starmer told the Sunday edition of the tabloid The Sun. "Anti-Semitism, in all its forms, is abhorrent and must be firmly fought wherever it occurs," he added.
Several representatives of Jewish organizations and London Mayor Sadiq Khan also protested Kanye West's presence at the event. "It is deplorable that venues have invited someone who, not long ago, spread conspiracy theories and worshipped Hitler (...), including one of the stages of the UK's biggest festivals," the Campaign Against Antisemitism group commented.
(Unioneonline)