Kanye West has been blocked from travelling to the UK following the controversy around his forthcoming headline slot at Wireless Festival.
The rapper, who now goes by Ye, was announced last week as the headliner for all three nights of the festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July, with the shows being described as a three-night journey through his “most iconic records”.
The booking has prompted widespread criticism, including from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who said it is “deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism”.
A series of festival sponsors have also cut their ties with Wireless as a result, including Pepsi, drinks giant Diageo, PayPal and Rockstar Energy, piling enormous pressure on the festival to take action.
Now, the Home Office claims the rapper made an application to travel to the UK yesterday (April 6) via an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which has been refused reports BBC News.
The Home Office said the decision to refuse permission was made on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good.
NME has contacted a spokesperson for West for comment.
It comes after West shared a fresh apology following the controversy around his forthcoming headline slot only this morning (April 7).
This a developing story.
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