Pepsi Officially Withdraws Sponsorship from Wireless Festival After Naming Kanye West as Headliner
JAKARTA - Pepsi surprisingly announced its withdrawal as the main sponsor of the Wireless Festival. This decisive step was taken following a wave of public protests that condemned the organizers' decision to make Kanye West - who is familiarly known as Ye - the headliner at the prestigious music event.
Pepsi's decision to end the long-standing partnership, which has been in place since 2015, where the festival was previously pictured with the title "Pepsi MAX presents Wireless".
"Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of the Wireless Festival," a company representative said, quoted by NME, Monday, April 6.
The controversy began when Wireless Festival announced Ye would headline the festival for three consecutive nights at Finsbury Park, London, in July.
However, Ye's track record of frequently making anti-Semitic statements and praising Nazism has sparked the anger of political figures to humanitarian organizations. The British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, also gave a sharp statement regarding this situation.
"It is deeply concerning that Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and his celebration of Nazism," Sir Keir Starmer said.
In line with Starmer, London Mayor Sadiq Khan also expressed his objection. He considered Ye's presence not in line with the spirit of diversity that is upheld by Londoners.
Similar criticism came from groups such as the Jewish Leadership Council and the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism who judged giving Ye a stage was a form of normalization of hatred.
Ye's reputation has been in tatters since 2022 after a series of offensive posts on social media. As a result, he was fired by talent agencies, record labels, and even giant fashion brands such as Adidas and Balenciaga.
Although he apologized on several occasions - including through a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal - his inconsistent actions have made the public doubt his sincerity.