Pepsi has decided to pull out of its sponsorship of London’s Wireless Festival, and it all has to do with Kanye West and the fact that he’s headlining 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 unaware of their reasons, the majority stem from Kanye West’s anti-sematic behavior and past comments for which he has since apologized.
One of the behaviors in question is the release of a song entitled ‘Heil Hitler’.
Another thing that’s pertinent to mention is that Kanye, who has since changed his name to Ye, is in the process of releasing a brand new album titled Bully, which will also feature a US tour.
Apologies from Kanye West:
As for his apology and what it contained, the BBC reports, West took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal.
“I am not a Nazi or anti-Semite,” he wrote in it before adding, “I love Jewish people.”
He also explained the main reason why he did what he did and attributed it to undiagnosed bipolar disorder, acquired as a result of a car accident that occurred in 2001.
Part of his article read: “One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar 1 is the disjointed moments – many of which I still cannot remember – that led to poor judgment and reckless behavior that often feels like an out-of-body experience. I regret and am deeply hurt by my actions in that condition, and am committed to responsibility, treatment and meaningful change. However, it is not an excuse for what I did.”
Considering that he even had his jaw wired shut at the 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 in my skull, went unnoticed.”
It wasn’t until 2023 that he claimed his problems were taken seriously, but he made sure to say that “medical supervision caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type 1 diagnosis.”
