Friends star David Schwimmer has blasted Wireless Festival and its remaining sponsors for not taking action after the backlash over Kanye West’s booking.
David Schwimmer has branded Kanye West “one of the most recognisable hate-mongering bigots in the world”.
The 59-year-old Jewish actor has praised the likes of Pepsi, PayPayl and Diageo for pulling their Wireless Festival sponsorships after the controversial rapper was announced as its headliner for all three nights this summer, sparking backlash following his previous antisemitic comments.
In a lengthy Instagram statement, David wrote: “It’s great to see companies with moral clarity.
“Unlike Wireless and Festival Republic, they decided not to platform an artist who became one of the most recognizable hate-mongering bigots in the world…
“For years, Ye used his considerable celebrity to promote hate and violence against Jews, spreading antisemitic lies and stereotypes to his 33 million follows — more than twice the number of Jewish people alive today.”
The Friends star referenced Ye’s 2025 song Heil Hitler – which he notes was banned from streaming services – and the Swastika t-shirts he sold online, while calling out the rapper for “claiming he was a Nazi and threatened to kill Jews”.
He argued that while Kanye “professed to apologize for all that in a paid ad he took out in the Wall Street Journal” in January, his actions haven’t backed up his words.
He wrote: “Remember: Ye’s apologized before, only to retract that apology and double down on his virulent hatred of Jewish people.
“This time, he explained it was a health condition that had made him specifically target Jews with hate speech and threats of violence.
“So he’s launching a comeback, having recently played at SoFi Stadium in California (Kroenke family were you aware?) supported by Lauryn Hill, Travis Scott, CeeLo Green and Don Toliver — artists who seem to shrug off his history of rabid antisemitism.
“Or maybe endorse it? Hard to say, since none of them ever publicly denounced his past remarks.”
David argued that the rapper’s “words are actions the last few years have caused incalculable, irreparable damage”, accusing him of fuelling “world wide hatred” and inspiring “violence against Jews everywhere”.
He added that “his erratic behavior has repeatedly shown he can’t be trusted”, claiming
“the community he has harmed most has no reason to trust his apology is authentic”.
David insisted: “An apology letter is just that: Words on paper.”
He continued: “I believe in forgiveness, but it takes much more than this.
“Until Ye demonstrates a commitment to building back trust — not only with the Jewish community, but with ALL the fans he left heartbroken and disappointed by his hateful rhetoric the last several years — he should not be granted a platform to perform.
“To do so is to be tacitly complicit in what these companies know to be wrong, unethical and immoral.
“I hope Budweiser, Beat Box Beverages, Drip water and Big Green Coach come to the same conclusion.”
In an email to Variety following his initial public note, David called on Ye “to take actual measures by which the Jewish community could begin to take his professed rehabilitation seriously”.
He added: “I am not the story here. It is Ye’s lack of credibility, his long history of volatile and malevolent behavior, and the total absence of any concrete steps taken to prove his claims sincere.”
Meanwhile, Melvin Benn – managing director of Wireless owner Festival Republic – has defended the company’s decision to book Kanye.
He said: “Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world and I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing as was mine and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.”
David Schwimmer brands Kanye West a ‘hate-mongering bigot’ in explosive statement
