Major sponsors have pulled out of the U.K.'s 2026 Wireless Festival over the decision to book rapper Kanye West as the event's headline act.
Pepsi, which had been the festival's main sponsor, confirmed its withdrawal Monday in a statement reported by CNN.
Drink giant Diageo has also stepped back from the event. The company, whose portfolio includes Guinness, Baileys, Smirnoff, and Ciroc, said it would no longer be involved.
"We have informed the organizers of our concerns, and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival," a spokesperson for the beverage company told CNN.
The sponsorship decisions follow mounting criticism of West, also known as Ye, over antisemitic remarks in recent years.
His selection as the sole headliner for all three days of the festival has drawn backlash.
Wireless organizers announced last week that West will perform across the entire July 10-12 event in London's Finsbury Park.
The festival is one of the U.K.'s largest, attracting as many as 150,000 attendees annually.
West has not performed in Britain since headlining Glastonbury in 2015.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among those condemning the booking.
"It is deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism," he told CNN.
Advocacy groups have also called for further action.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism urged authorities to prevent West from entering the country.
"The Prime Minister is right to be deeply concerned that @WirelessFest wants to headline someone whose anti-Jewish bigotry has gone as far as recording a track titled 'Heil Hitler' less than a year ago," the group said in a Sunday post on X. "But the Prime Minister is not a bystander. The Government can ban anyone from entering the UK who is not a citizen and whose presence would 'not be conducive to the public good.' Surely this is a clear case."
West addressed his past conduct earlier this year in a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal.
"I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret," he wrote. "In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it."
He has also spoken about his mental health, previously saying he had bipolar disorder before later stating he had been misdiagnosed and instead has autism.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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