SNL UK takes a swipe at Kanye West amid the rapper’s ban from the country. For those unversed, Wireless Music Festival booked West as their headliner for a three-day event in July. However, authorities strongly called for a ban on West over his past racist and anti-Semitic remarks.
Finally, on April 8, Wireless Festival announced the cancellation of the music festival, as the rapper was not legally allowed to enter the country.
SNL UK mocks Kanye West amid ban from country
SNL UK jokes about Kanye West’s ban from the country in a promo for this week’s upcoming episode. English comedian and actor Jack Whitehall opened the promo for this Saturday’s episode.
Whitehall skimmed through the SNL bulletin board filled with names of the show’s hosts scribbled on sticky notes. He glanced over his name written on the bulletin board. Then, suddenly, he noticed there were two sticky notes with West’s first name, “Kanye,” scribbled on them. Whitehall’s eyes widened as he immediately plucked them from the bulletin board and tossed them aside.
Although the joke was brief, it made its point: West was not welcome in the UK. The Wireless Music Festival was originally supposed to take place from July 10 (Friday) to July 12 (Sunday) at Finsbury Park in North London. The Bully hitmaker was going to headline all three days of the concert, marking his grand comeback in the UK since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015.
However, there were growing calls from UK authorities and British Jewish communities to ban West’s concert. British PM Sir Keir Starmer revealed to The Sun that it was “deeply concerning” that the West was headlining the Wireless Music Festival in the country.
Soon after, major sponsors such as Pepsi, PayPal, and AB InBev, the parent company of both Budweiser and Corona, pulled out of the festival due to West’s controversial behavior.
Amid growing tensions, Wireless Festival announced it was forced to cancel the event. The “Runaway” rapper released a statement expressing his regret.
