Pepsi and Diageo withdraw sponsorship of Wireless Festival after Kanye West booking | Ents & Arts News

Diageo, owner of Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan, has joined Pepsi in withdrawing sponsorship of Wireless Festival, which Kanye West is due to headline, after Sir Keir Starmer joined criticism of the event.

The US rapper has previously been condemned over his antisemitic remarks.

The 48-year-old musician – who has not performed in the UK since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015 – is set to top the bill for all three nights of the festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July.

A Diageo spokesperson said: “We have informed the organisers of our concerns and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival.”

Earlier on Sunday, a Pepsi spokesperson said: “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.”

Sky News has approached festival organisers for a response.

In the time since he last performed on UK soil, West has drawn criticism for antisemitic X posts, a Super Bowl advert directing people to a swastika T-shirt and a song referencing Hitler.

Sir Keir said it was “deeply concerning” that West has been booked “despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism”.

“Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted clearly and firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe and secure,” the prime minister said.

West, also known as Ye, has been barred from X over antisemitism on multiple occasions.

In January, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise, titled: “To Those I’ve Hurt.”

“I am not a Nazi or an antisemite,” it said. “I love Jewish people.”

West attributed his previous outbursts to his bipolar-1 disorder, writing: “In early 2025, I fell into a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life.

“I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret.”

The rapper also apologised to the black community, saying he had let it down.

West previously lost his deal with Adidas following a post on his social media in 2022, in which he shared an image of a swastika inside a Star of David.

Adidas, which had worked with the rapper on his Yeezy trainers, subsequently donated more than $150m (£117m) to anti-hate groups.

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Shortly afterwards, he drew criticism over a TV advert that directed people to a website selling a swastika t-shirt and released a song titled Heil Hitler.

Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, last week called for the government to ban West from entering the UK.

He said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood should “ban him from coming to this country – we’ve got to take antisemitism more seriously”.

Sky News understands the Home Office is yet to receive an application for West to enter the UK.