Politics kanye west nigel farage Reform UK

Farage would refuse visas to people whose countries request slavery reparations, but insists Kanye West shouldn’t be banned for ‘something he’s said’ – 18 side-eyes

Poke Reporter. Updated April 9th, 2026

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If you were planning to go and see Kanye West on one of his three headline days at Wireless Festival, you’re probably aware that you’re now a two-time loser. West, now known as Ye, has had his visa application refused due to previous offensive comments including some that were deeply antisemitic, and the festival is cancelled.

The rapper had taken out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal in January, apologising for the racist and antisemitic comments, distancing himself from them, and blaming them on his well-documented struggles with bipolar disorder and a brain injury he sustained in a car accident.

A lot of people simply aren’t convinced that his apology was sincere, triggering the visa refusal.

Another man with numerous past accusations of racism and antisemitism, Nigel Farage, defended Ye on the principle of free speech. Here’s what he said.

“If we start banning people from entering the country, because we don’t like what they say, I worry where that ends up.”

That might not have been a controversial stance from the party that at least pays lip service to supporting free speech, had it not awkwardly coincided with Reform’s announcement of an intended policy of refusing visas to anyone from a country that has asked for slavery reparations from the UK.

These people would be banned not for something they’d said, but for something their governments had said.

The policy, and Farage’s flip-flopping set heads spinning.

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