PEPSI has pulled its sponsorship of Wireless Festival after controversial rapper Kanye West was booked to headline all three nights.
The drinks giant ditched its “Pepsi presents Wireless” branding following a furious backlash over the star’s past antisemitic outbursts and sick praise for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
West, who now goes by Ye, has sparked outrage in recent years after declaring admiration for Hitler, calling himself a Nazi and vowing to go “death con 3 on Jewish people”.
He also released a track titled Heil Hitler and flogged Swastika T-shirts on his website, despite previously issuing grovelling apologies.
A Pepsi spokesperson confirmed the move, saying: “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.”
The shock withdrawal comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer blasted the booking as “deeply concerning”.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “It is deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless 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 48-year-old is set to perform to a 150,000 fans across three nights at Finsbury Park from July 10 to 12.
Should it go ahead the performance will be his first UK show since his infamous 2015 Glastonbury headline slot.
Tickets are already on sale for £140 a day, with three-day passes priced at £360.
The event is expected to be streamed globally on Amazon.
But the booking has sparked mounting fury with leading Jewish groups – demanding he be banned from Britain altogether.
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, slammed the decision as “absolutely the wrong one”.
The Holocaust Educational Trust warned the gig is causing “distress” within the community.
Chief executive Karen Pollock said: “He wrote a song entitled Heil Hitler. I know he has since apologised, but if an artist had singled out any other ethnic or religious group for such horrific abuse you’d expect them never to get a gig ever again, let alone headlining major UK festivals.
“Wireless should think again about whether they want to provide a platform for this hateful antisemitism.”
The Jewish Leadership Council also blasted organisers, branding the move “deeply irresponsible”.
It added: “His most recent apology must be considered in the context that he went on to sell swastika T-shirts and release a song called Heil Hitler after apologising previously.
“Any venue or festival should reconsider before providing their platform to Kanye West to spread his antisemitism.”
The row comes amid growing fears over rising antisemitism in the UK, with a string of shocking incidents in recent months.
In March, four ambulances from a Jewish community-run service were torched in north-west London, while last October two men were killed in a horror attack at a synagogue in Manchester.
Despite previously apologising in a full-page letter published in the Wall Street Journal where he blamed a bipolar episode for his behaviour.
West’s repeated controversies have seen him spiral from one of the world’s biggest music stars to one of its most disgraced.
He has also recently struck up a “bromance” with former US President Donald Trump, who invited him to the White House in 2018.
The rapper was blocked from entering Australia last year over his Hitler song and now faces calls for the UK to follow suit.
