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The managing director of the Wireless Festival, Melvin Benn, has defended the decision to feature Kanye West as a headliner, calling for forgiveness for the rapper. His comments follow a significant backlash that saw sponsors withdraw and politicians criticize the event. Benn argued that second chances are becoming a lost virtue, while Jewish groups have condemned his support for the star given West's history of antisemitic remarks.
The star released a song called Heil Hitler and sold swastika T-shirts last year. He later apologised and blamed his bipolar disorder. Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said that the Wireless boss's statement will not reassure many within the Jewish or other communities.
The government is reviewing if West, 48, should be allowed to enter the UK. Benn, who leads Wireless Festival's parent company Festival Republic, said he is a deeply committed anti-fascist and lived on a kibbutz, a community in Israel, for many months in the 1970s.
In a statement, he said: What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the prime minister and others that have commented and - taking him at his word - to Ye now also. Benn also said he has had someone in his life for the past 15 years who suffers from mental illness and has witnessed many episodes of despicable behaviour that he had to forgive.
If I wasn't before, I have become a person of forgiveness and hope in all aspects of my life, including work, he said. He added that West has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country.
This January, West apologised in a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal, writing: I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. He said he regretted and was deeply mortified by his actions and that his bipolar disorder meant you're manic, you don't think you're sick.