Entertainment
Kanye West blocked from entering U.K. after criticism over past antisemitic remarks
The rapper formerly known as Kanye West was barred Tuesday from entering the U.K., where he was scheduled to headline the Wireless Festival in July, after a backlash over Ye’s history of antisemitic remarks.
Festival organizers canceled the three-day outdoor event as a result of the travel ban and said those who had bought tickets would get refunds.
Ye had been granted an electronic travel authorization which has now been withdrawn on the grounds that his presence in the U.K. would not be “conducive to the public good,” CBS News partner network BBC News said, citing the Home Office.
“Kanye West should never have been invited to headline Wireless,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on social media. “This government stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism. We will always take the action necessary to protect the public and uphold our values.”
The rapper, who changed his name in 2021, had been expected to play his first U.K. dates in more than a decade in front of around 150,000 revelers over three nights July 10-12 at the Wireless Festival, in London’s Finsbury Park. Other acts for the festival had not yet been announced.
Joseph Okpako/WireImage
The event’s organizers had been under mounting pressure from sponsors and politicians to cancel the gigs by the rapper, who has drawn widespread condemnation for making antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler.
Last year, Ye released a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. The song led Australian officials last year to block him from entering their country.
The 48-year-old apologized in January with a letter, published as a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal. He said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.”
Wireless sponsors Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and Diageo pulled out of the festival since Ye was announced as the headliner.
Starmer had called the booking “deeply concerning,” and Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Tuesday that Ye should “absolutely not” play at the festival.
In a statement issued Tuesday before his travel authorization was revoked, Ye said he “would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the U.K. in person, to listen.
“I know words aren’t enough — I’ll have to show change through my actions,” he said. “If you’re open, I’m here.”
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the group would be willing to meet with the musician if he pulled out of the festival.
“The Jewish community will want to see a genuine remorse and change before believing that the appropriate place to test this sincerity is on the main stage at the Wireless Festival,” Rosenberg said.
Organizer Festival Republic had stood by Ye. In a statement issued Monday, managing director Melvin Benn urged people to offer the performer “forgiveness and hope.”
“We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions,” the statement said.
Announcing the cancellation, Festival Republic said that “multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking Ye and no concerns were highlighted at the time.
“Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognize the real and personal impact these issues have had,” it said in a statement. “As Ye said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the U.K.”
Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images
The Community Security Trust, which works to protect British Jews, said the government had made the right decision.
“Anti-Jewish hatred should have no place in society and cultural leaders have a role to play in ensuring that is the case,” it said in a statement.
“People who show genuine and meaningful remorse for previous antisemitic behavior will always receive a sympathetic hearing from the Jewish community, but that process must come before this kind of public rehabilitation.”
A representative for Ye didn’t reply to a request for comment.
Entertainment
Zayn Malik thanks fans after ‘epic’ Konnakol Tour opening night
Zayn Malik is overwhelmed with gratitude as fans continue showering him with love and support after The Konnakol Tour launch.
Shortly after wrapping up the opening night of his first-ever headlining arena and stadium tour since his One Direction days, the former boy band star took to social media to thank his supporters.
On Sunday, May 24, the Dusk Till Dawn hitmaker shared a series of photos and a video, featuring some behind-the-scenes glimpse, highlights from the first show and a peek into the prep.
“Night 1 LONDON 02!!! Big thanks to everyone that came out and turned up!” he captioned the carousel. “That was epic ! [red heart emoji].”
The Pillowtalk chart-topper kicked off the 31-date global trek, supporting his fifth studio album of the same name, on Saturday, May 23, at the O2 Arena in London.
Standup comedian Usama Siddiquee was selected alongside DJ Lonyo to provide the opening entertainment to get the arena crowd energised before the 33-year-old singer took the stage.
Taking to his Instagram Stories, Zayn gave a shout out to the fast-rising Bengali-American comedian, writer, and actor.
“@usamastandsup you’re a legend bro,” he wrote over an image of himself watching Usman dominating the stage. “Thank you!”
In the following update the Die For Me singer reposted the America’s Got Talent semifinalist’s story.
The text over the duo’s picture read, “Thanks for having me bro.”
Zayn officially announced the Don’t Tell Comedy star as the comedy opener for the major UK arena dates, including the opening night at London’s O2 Arena on followed by the Manchester AO Arena on May 24.
Entertainment
‘Teen Mom’ star’s wife taken into police custody for DUI
Amanda Conner, wife of Teen Mom star Ryan Edwards, was arrested on Sunday morning near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and charged with driving under the influence and child abuse and neglect after allegedly getting behind the wheel with the couple’s baby daughter in the car.
According to TMZ, which first reported the arrest, Conner was also charged with driving on the wrong side of the road.
A dispatch call obtained by the outlet indicated that it was her husband who alerted police, having grown concerned that she may have taken narcotics before leaving the house with the baby.
Her bond was set at $16,000, and she had not been released by 4:30 p.m. local time on Sunday. A court hearing has been scheduled for 3 June.
Conner, 35, and Edwards, 37, married in September 2025, just some time after he finalised his divorce from his previous wife, Mackenzie Standifer.
The pair had been friends for years before beginning a relationship in September 2023. Together they share a one-year-old daughter, Presley, who was in the car at the time of the alleged incident.
The arrest arrives against a complicated family backdrop.
Edwards has had a well-documented history of addiction and legal troubles stretching back years, including a 2023 court order requiring him to seek help for substance abuse following a series of arrests involving Standifer.
He is also father to Bentley, 17, with fellow Teen Mom original cast member Maci Bookout, as well as Jagger, 7, and Stella, 6, with Standifer.
Bookout, who married Taylor McKinney in 2016 and shares two children with him, has spoken candidly in the past about the toll Edwards’ struggles have taken.
“Obviously, when things first went down with Ryan and him having to go to jail and making stupid decisions and stuff, I definitely had a breaking point then,” she shared.
She described therapy and self-compassion as the tools that helped her through.
“I think the therapy I had done previously… and just making sure that I check in with myself and that I give myself grace and that I let myself fall apart and then pick myself back up is a game changer.”
Entertainment
Gordon Ramsay reveals ‘most important thing in life’
Gordon Ramsay may have built his reputation on Michelin stars and television fireworks, but when it comes to raising his six children, the lesson he holds above all others is a rather simpler one.
Speaking to Fox News Digital in an interview published on Sunday, 24 May, the 59-year-old chef revealed what he considers the single most important thing he has instilled in his kids.
“The one thing I’ve taught them all, brilliantly, are manners,” he said, adding with characteristic directness: “The most important thing in life, but they cost zero.”
Ramsay shares his six children, Megan, 28, Holly, 26, Jack, 26, Matilda, 24, Oscar, 7, and Jesse, 2, with his wife Tana.
On the professional front, one of his children appears to be following closely in his footsteps.
Ramsay spoke to PEOPLE in February about his daughter Matilda, known as Tilly, who has chosen to pursue a career in food, a decision that clearly delights him.
Ramsay spoke to PEOPLE again at the Fox Upfront event on 11 May, where he was celebrating the renewal of several of his shows including Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Next Level Chef, Next Level Baker, Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service and Gordon Ramsay’s Being Gordon Ramsay.
Asked which of his six shows currently on air is his favourite, he reached for a familiar metaphor.
“I have six shows on air right now. That’s like saying, I have six kids as well, what’s my favourite kid? It depends, it’s the one that least pisses me off at the moment.”
Six kids, six shows, and a firm belief in the power of a please and a thank you. Not a bad philosophy, all things considered.
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