Ye 'Should Never Have Been Invited,' Starmer Says After Barring Rapper From U.K.

For Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, the prospect of a high-profile London music festival headlined by Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, presented a host of problems.

Mr. Starmer helped purge his Labour Party of antisemitism years ago, so it would be nearly impossible to imagine that he would stay silent about three days of planned performances by the rapper who released a song called "Heil Hitler" and once declared "death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE."

But the prime minister has also been under immense pressure by rivals in Britain and some of the highest-ranking officials in the United States to protect free speech. Vice President JD Vance last year accused the government of acting like the thought police in the way it treated conservative views that it did not like.