Pepsi has decided to back out of its sponsorship of London’s Wireless Festival, and its all got to do with Kanye West, and the fact that he’s serving as the headliner for the three-day event.
The news comes via a spokesperson and according to The Independent they say, “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.”
For those unversed with their reasons, the majority stem from Kanye West’s anti-sematic behavior and comments from the past which he has since apologized for.
One of those behaviors in question include releasing a song that is titled ‘Heil Hitler’.
Another thing that’s pertinent to mention is that Kanye, who has since changed his name to Ye, is in the throes of releasing a brand new album titled Bully, which will feature a US based tour as well.
Kanye West’s Apology:
As for his apology and what it said, the BBC reports, West took out a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal.
“I am not a Nazi or an antisemite,” he wrote in it before adding, “I love Jewish people.”
He also detailed the key reason why he did what he did and chalked it up to an undiagnosed bipolar disorder sustained as a result of a car crash that happened back in 2001.
Part of his write-up said, “one of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type-1 are the disconnected moments – many of which I still cannot recall – that led to poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body-experience. 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.”
Given that he had even gotten his jaw wired shut during that time he said, “at the time, the focus was on the visible damage – the fracture, the swelling and the immediate physical trauma. The deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed.”
It was only in 2023 that he claimed his issues were taken seriously but sure to say, “that medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-1 diagnosis.”