The artist formerly known as Kanye West’s three-night Wireless Festival takeover has reportedly led to another brand distancing itself from the London event.
Per a report from the UK’s ITV News, PayPal, though not an official sponsor of the festival, is now set to not be featured on “any” promotional branding for the event moving forward. In that report, as well as this one from BBC News, it’s noted that PayPal serves as a payment partner for the festival.
Complex has reached out to reps for PayPal and Wireless for comment. This story may be updated.
Ye, fresh off two stateside shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, is slated to perform for three consecutive nights at London’s Finsbury Park starting July 10. Not long after the Wireless announcement, Pepsi was confirmed to be withdrawing its sponsorship. Diageo, the owner of brands including Smirnoff and Guinness, has also since distanced itself.
Meanwhile, local political leaders have also spoken out about the booking. A spokesperson for London Mayor Sadiq Khan, for example, said last week that the “past comments and actions” of Ye are “not reflective” of the city’s values.
Ahead of the release of Bully, which recently earned a No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart, Ye spoke at length about his struggles with bipolar disorder in a full-page Wall Street Journal ad. According to Ye, he at one point “became detached from my true self,” which led to him gravitating toward “the most destructive symbol” he could find, i.e. the swastika.
“One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type-1 are the disconnected moments—many of which I still cannot recall—that lead to poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body experience,” Ye wrote in the WSJ piece. “I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
