Pepsi Withdraws Sponsorship from Wireless Festival Headlined by Kanye West Shaunee FlowersSun, April 5, 2026 at 5:16 PM UTC 0 (Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty) If you didn't see Kanye West during his two soldout shows at SoFi Stadium last week, there's no telling when you might get to see him play in the U.S. again. The controversial rapper is headed overseas for more shows, first stopping in New Delhi, India, before continuing on to Turkey, the Netherlands, and France.
Pepsi Withdraws Sponsorship from Wireless Festival Headlined by Kanye West
Shaunee FlowersSun, April 5, 2026 at 5:16 PM UTC
0
(Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty)
If you didn't see Kanye West during his two sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium last week, there's no telling when you might get to see him play in the U.S. again. The controversial rapper is headed overseas for more shows, first stopping in New Delhi, India, before continuing on to Turkey, the Netherlands, and France.
July 10 through 12, West is scheduled for the Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park in London, but now, that festival has lost its biggest sponsor. On Sunday, Pepsi announced they were pulling out as a sponsor of the upcoming three-night event, sharing a short message with the British press that simply read, "Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival." The soft drink brand has been affiliated with the Wireless Festival since 2015.
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Pepsi did not mention West specifically in the statement, but there have been growing online protests of the booking, and a strong condemnation from U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer, who told The Sun, "It is deeply concerning 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 firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe."
Starmer was far from alone in his condemnation. London Mayor Sadiq Khan also publicly distanced his office from the booking, with a spokesperson telling The Guardianthat West's past conduct and comments are "offensive and wrong, and simply not reflective of London's values," while clarifying that City Hall had no involvement in the festival's decision.
The UK's Jewish Leadership Council called the booking "deeply irresponsible" and argued that West's January Wall Street Journal apology letter should be viewed with skepticism, given his history of selling swastika T-shirts and releasing a song called "Heil Hitler" after making previous apologies.
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There are still three months to go until the Wireless Festival kicks off. With Pepsi removing its sponsorship, many are looking to PayPal, Rockstar Energy Drink, Budweiser, and Johnnie Walker, the show's remaining sponsors, to see what they might do. So far, none have made a statement.
Protest is spilling over to the comments section of Wireless Festival Instagram posts. "So men can just get away with anything it seems. Cool cool cool," someone wrote.
Another shared, "This is ridiculous, nice way of showing where you stand."
On another post, a protestor called it "Disgrace of a festival."
Another weighed in, "Wanted to go but cannot support that man and all he stands for… wth they thinking?"
This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: April 5, 2026 at 04:45PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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