Musician Kanye West, now known as “Ye,” responded to calls from U.K. politicians and British Jewish leaders to ban him from entering the country and prevent him from headlining this summer’s Wireless Festival in London over his antisemitism.
West, 48, in a brief letter, said he wants to “present a show of change” and expressed a desire to meet with members of the U.K. Jewish community. “I know words aren’t enough—I’ll have to show change through my actions,” he wrote.
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who had called for London to ban West from entering the country, said he would be willing to meet with West, but only on condition that West agrees not to perform at the festival this year.
“It has been less than a year since Kanye West released a song entitled ‘Heil Hitler,’ the culmination of three years of appalling antisemitism,” Rosenberg said.
“Even while claiming remorse today, his latest album includes a track first released last year with the abhorrent title ‘Gas Chamber.’ The Jewish community will want to see a genuine remorse and change before believing that the appropriate place to test this sincerity is on the main stage at the Wireless Festival.
“As such, we are willing to meet Kanye West as part of his journey of healing, but only after he agrees not to play the Wireless Festival this year,” he said.
