After significant backlash to Kanye West being announced as the headliner for Wireless Festival, the UK government is now reportedly reconsidering his permission to enter the UK.
Last week the American rapper, 48, was revealed to be headlining all three nights of the London rap and hip-hop festival in July.
The shows are part of the controversial musician’s comeback – marking his first UK shows since his scrapped Saint Pablo tour in 2016 and coming after years of him coming under fire for spouting homophobic and anti-Semitic views, dressing up as the KKK, and writing a song dedicated to Hitler.
Earlier this year he attributed his behaviour to bipolar disorder and issued an apology declaring that he was ‘not a Nazi or an antisemite’ and that he was ‘deeply mortified’ by his past behaviour.
Despite his apology, his inclusion in the music festival’s line-up has been slammed by many, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who’s said it was ‘deeply concerning’ he’d been booked to headline the event. Meanwhile four sponsors have also pulled out.
It’s now been reported that the government is reviewing whether West should be allowed to enter the UK, as per the BBC. Ministers have the power to ban foreign nationals from the UK if their presence is not considered ‘conducive to the public good’.
The Conservative Party has urged the government to refuse West a visa as ‘allowing someone with his track record to headline a major public event sends entirely the wrong message’. Meanwhile Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said his past antisemitic actions were ‘not a one-off lapse, but a pattern of behaviour that has caused real offence and distress to Jewish communities’.
The rapper has already been refused entry to Australia, which cancelled his visa after he released Heil Hitler last May. Although a decision on West’s UK visa is yet to be revealed, here’s some other notable stars who’ve been banned over the years.
Chris Brown
American rapper Chris Brown was banned from entering the UK in 2010 after he was convicted of assaulting Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time. He received five years of probation and ordered to attend one year of domestic violence counselling and undergo six months of community service.
Brown was then forced to postpone his UK tour after being denied a visa by the Home Office, who said at the time that ‘public safety is one of our primary concerns’.
The ban prevented him from touring for over a decade and was eventually lifted in 2020, with the rapper later returning to the UK two years later for perform at Wireless Festival.
Although he was arrested in the UK last year in relation to a 2023 nightclub assault investigation, Brown was granted bail to continue tour dates.
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg was banned from entering the UK in 2006 following a violent altercation at Heathrow Airport that injured seven police officers after members of his entourage were refused entry to the British Airways lounge.
Following the forced cancellation of his planned 2007 tour, the rapper’s ban was overturned two years later after an extended legal battle.
He also once claimed he received help from Queen Elizabeth II, who apparently cited grandsons’ love for his music.
Aside from the UK, Snoop Dogg has also previously been banned from Australia and Norway.
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson was banned from the UK in 2013 after immigration laws regarding foreign nationals with criminal convictions were tightened.
The American boxer had previously been sentenced to more than four years in prison for his 1992 rape conviction and was then denied entry under regulations targeting individuals sentenced to severe prison terms.
He was then forced to cancel a book tour but decided not to challenge the decision, saying: ‘If that’s what they established, then I won’t go there any more.’
Martha Stewart
Four years after Martha Stewart was convicted for conspiracy, obstruction of agency proceedings, and making false statements, in 2008 she was refused a UK visa.
The American businesswoman and TV personality had served five months in federal prison for fraud and was released in March 2005.
However planned business meetings in the UK had to be cancelled after she was prevented from entering the UK due to policies surrounding individuals with serious criminal offenses committed abroad.
Tyler, the Creator
American rapper Tyler, the Creator – real name Tyler Gregory Okonma – was banned from entering the UK for three to five years in 2015 by then-Home Secretary Theresa May, largely due to homophobic and violent lyrical content from his albums Bastard and Goblin.
At the time it was said there were concerns his work fostered hatred and public disorder and was ‘not conducive to the public good’. The rapper was then forced to cancel headline slots at Reading and Leeds Festivals and said he felt he was being treated like a ‘terrorist’.
The ban was lifted around February 2019. The following year he jokingly thanked May in a Brit Awards speech, declaring: ‘I want to give a special shout-out to someone who I hold dear to my heart…I know she’s at home pissed off, thank you Theresa May.’
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Ja Rule
Two years ago, American rapper Ja Rule was denied entry to the UK which forced the cancellation of his Sunrise tour.
The ban was due to his convictions in 2010 and 2011 for weapon possession and tax evasion, for which he served two years behind bars. When the ban was announced, he shared a post on social media in which he told fans: ‘I’m so devastated I can’t believe the UK won’t let me in. I’ve spent a half million dollars in production of my own money to put this tour together only to be denied entry DAYS before my show. This is not fair to me or my fans these venues are 85% sold and now I can’t come…’
‘The UK is one of the few European countries that restricts entry to people with criminal records. In general, you will likely be denied entry if you have been convicted of a crime punishable by 23 months or more under British law or served more than 12 months in prison. This…🤬’ a follow-up post read.
Lil Wayne
In 2022 another American rapper was barred from the UK. Lil Wayne had been due to play at the Strawberries and Creem festival but was pulled from the line-up after his visa was rejected due to prior convictions.
In 2010 the rapper – real name Dwayne Carter – was sentenced to a year in prison, external, after pleading guilty to gun possession, which came after a gun was found on his tour bus in 2007.
He was also found to be carrying a gun and bullets when police searched a private plane in Miami in 2019. Although he could have faced a decade in prison he was granted a full White House pardon by US President Donald Trump.
At the time his visa was refused, the rapper had been due to perform in the UK for the first time in several years. In a statement announcing the cancellation, festival organisers said: ‘Due to extreme circumstances beyond our control or influence, we are very sorry to inform you that Lil Wayne is now unable to perform at the festival…Lil Wayne has been refused entry to the UK directly by the Home Office in a last-minute decision. We are deeply disappointed by this sudden and negative ruling.’
Duane Lee ‘Dog’ Chapman
American TV personality Dog the Bounty Hunter – Duane Chapman – had been due to appear on Celebrity Big Brother in 2012 but was banned from the UK due to a murder conviction.
In 1976 he was involved in the shooting murder of Jerry Bowers Oliver, who was known to sell marijuana. Along with three others, Chapman planned to rob him, however one ended up shooting Oliver at short range and the group fled.
During a trial Chapman was found guilty of murder and was handed a five-year prison sentence, serving 18 months.
As a result of his felony conviction, he is prohibited from owning firearms and has been refused entry to the United Kingdom. He has not officially entered the UK since the ban. At the time his wife Beth said: ‘It’s just incredible that something that he did 33 years ago is just haunting him. It prevents him making a living. Our society is so unforgiving it seems, no matter how many good things we do.’
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