Big brands are pulling their sponsorship from the 2026 Wireless Festival in London this summer after Ye was announced as the headliner.
On Sunday (April 5), news broke that Pepsi and Diageo were pulling their sponsorship from the festival. Pepsi has been the main sponsor for the event since 2015. PayPal, a payment partner for Wireless, will also no longer allow its branding to be used on promotional material for the festival, BBC reports.
Pepsi has confirmed with XXL its withdrawal from the festival. “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.” A Diageo spokesperson said: “We have informed the organisers of our concerns and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival.”
Rockstar Energy has also withdrawn its sponsorship.
While Pepsi and Diageo have not provided specific reasons for dropping their sponsorships, the rapper’s past anti-Semitic comments are likely what caused the split. Ye apologized this past January in a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal. Ye said his mental health and bipolar type-1 diagnosis led him to lose touch with reality. The letter included the statements “I love Jewish people” and “I am so sorry to have let you down,” the latter of which he directed to the Black community.
“In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it. 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. I am not a N*zi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.
To the black community – which held me down through all of the highs and lows and the darkest of times. The black community is, unquestionably, the foundation of who I am. I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us.”
See The Ultimate 2026 Festival Guide for Hip-Hop Fans
