Festival Head Melvin Benn Defends Booking

The head of Wireless Festival condemned Kanye West’s history of antisemitic comments and praise for Nazis, but defended the decision to book the rapper for this year’s event.

In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic, called on critics to offer Ye “forgiveness and hope,” saying, “Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world.”

While West recently apologized for his past behavior and antisemitic statements, Wireless’ decision has still drawn sharp rebukes from politicians and sponsors. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan both condemned the booking, and the BBC reported that some ministers are looking into whether to even grant West permission to enter the U.K. Additionally, Pepsi, Rockstar Energy, and the beverage giant Diageo have pulled out as sponsors of Wireless 2026.

Despite the pushback, Benn’s statement seemed to suggest that Wireless would not alter its lineup. Alluding to West’s apology, in which the rapper tied his antisemitic outbursts to his battle with bipolar disorder, Benn said that, for the past 15 years, he’s had a person in his life who also “suffers from mental illness.” Benn added that he had witnessed “many episodes of despicable behavior that I have had to forgive and move on from.” 

“If I wasn’t before, I have become a person of forgiveness and hope in all aspects of my life, including work,” Benn continued. “What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the prime minister and others that have commented and — taking him at his word — to Ye now also.”

Benn further argued that West’s music is still played on U.K. radio stations, remains available to stream and download, and (at least for now) still has “a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country.” Benn stressed that Wireless is “not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions.” 

In closing his statement, Benn reiterated his call for understanding, saying, “I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.”

Ye recently returned to the stage with two nights at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to coincide with the release of his new album, Bully. Along with Wireless, he has upcoming shows scheduled in India, Turkey, and several major European cities.