As reported by The Independent, Pepsi has pulled its sponsorship of London’s Wireless Festival amid public and political backlash over its booking of Ye (FKA Kanye West) for the three-day weekender.
Originally billed as the Pepsi MAX presents Wireless Festival, the event set to take place 10-12 July at London’s Finsbury Park is being headlined by the US rapper.
The announcement of Ye’s headline status broke on 31 March, and since then the decision to invite him to London has received controversy from politicians and public leaders due to past comments that have been described as antisemitic. In 2025, Ye was banned from entering Australia after releasing a song titled ‘Heil Hitler’, while also proclaiming himself to be a Nazi earlier in the year.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said it is “deeply concerning” that Ye will perform at Wireless this summer, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan stated that the Grammy-winning artist’s past comments were “offensive and wrong.”
In January 2026, Ye apologised on his past comments in a New York Journal full-page advertisement, owing his past behaviour to a brain injury and bipolar disorder. “Twenty-five years ago, I was in a car accident that broke my jaw and caused injury to the right frontal lobe of my brain,” the statement read, referencing the inspiration behind his 2004 hit ‘Through the Wire’.
“One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type-1 are the disconnected moments – many of which I still cannot recall – that led to poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body-experience,” the statement went on to read. In his apology, Ye added “I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state.”
In a brief statement, a Pepsi spokesperson told The Independent “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.”
