David Schwimmer took to social media on Monday to praise the companies that pulled their sponsorship at the London Wireless Festival after Kanye West was revealed as a headliner, noting that West had not properly atone for his years of anti-Semitic comments and that his written apology “does not erase years of abuse.”
“Thank you Pepsi, PayPal and Diageo. It’s great to see companies with ethical clarity.” friends the star wrote on Instagram on Monday. “Unlike Wireless and Festival Republic, they have decided not to provide a platform to the artist who has become one of the world’s most notorious hate-mongering bigots — while other organizations merely seek to profit from one.”
Sponsors began pulling their sponsorship on Sunday after promoter Wireless Festival Republic announced West’s booking. Festival director Melvin Penn issued an extended statement on Monday defending the decision to book West, stating that fans should “offer some forgiveness and hope.”
Schwimmer pointed to West’s move to release the song “Heil Hitler” and sell T-shirts with swastikas on it last year, calling it “West’s song.” Wall Street Journal The apology announcement “may have been part of a public relations scheme to calm people down ahead of his long-planned return to the stage.”
“Remember: Yee has apologized before, only to retract that apology and double down on his intense hatred for the Jewish people,” Schwimmer said.
Schwimmer’s statement comes as West was in the midst of a career resurgence that seemed unlikely last year after the movie “Heil Hitler” dropped. Less than a year later, after his apology was announced, it was revealed that independent music label Gamma was supporting West on his final album. bully, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart this week. Meanwhile, he played two nearly sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium last week, attracting tens of thousands of fans to each show.
Schwimmer questioned why the likes of Travis Scott, Don Toliver, and Lauryn Hill supported West at his shows last week, calling them “artists who seem to ignore his history of rabid anti-Semitism. Or perhaps they support him? It’s hard to say, as none of them have publicly denounced his past statements.”
Schwimmer argued that West needed to take further action to prove that his apology was genuine, and suggested that West donate some of the Wireless Festival profits to Jewish organizations in the UK and/or meet with Jewish leaders and artists to have a constructive dialogue about his statements.
“I believe in forgiveness, but it takes much more than that. Again, I do not benefit from his appearance on Wireless,” Schwimmer wrote. “Until Ye shows his commitment to rebuilding trust — not just with the Jewish community, but with all the fans he has left sad and disappointed by his hateful rhetoric over the past few years — he should not be given a platform to perform. To do so would be tacitly complicit in what these companies know is wrong, unethical, and unethical.”
Read Schwimmer’s full statement below:
Thank you Pepsi, PayPal and Diageo.
It’s great to see companies have ethical clarity.
These brands have pulled their sponsorship of Wireless Festival, which recently disgraced itself by scheduling Ye (formerly Kanye West) as its headliner.
Unlike Wireless and Festival Republic, they have decided not to exploit an artist who has become one of the world’s most notorious hate-mongering fanatics – while other organizations only seek to profit from one of their own.
For years, Yi used his huge fame to promote hatred and violence against Jews, spreading anti-Semitic lies and stereotypes among his 33 million followers — more than twice the number of Jews living today.
Less than a year ago, Ye released the song “Heil Hitler” (rightly banned on all major streaming platforms), sold T-shirts with swastikas on his website, claimed to be a Nazi and threatened to kill Jews.
But about two months ago he announced his apology for all of that in a paid ad he ran in the Wall Street Journal — perhaps as part of a PR scheme to calm people down ahead of his long-planned return to the stage.
Remember: Yi has apologized before, only to retract that apology and double down on his intense hatred for the Jewish people.
This time, he explained that it was his health condition that made him specifically target Jews with hate speech and threats of violence.
So he’s embarking on a comeback, having recently played at California’s SoFi Stadium (the Kroenke family, were you aware of that?) with support from Lauryn Hill, Travis Scott, Cee Lo Green and Don Tolliver — artists who seem to ignore his history of rabid anti-Semitism. Or maybe you support it? It’s hard to say, as none of them have publicly denounced his previous statements.
The matter is that Ye’s words and actions in the past few years have caused countless and irreparable damage. He has stirred up worldwide hatred and inspired violence against Jews everywhere, and his erratic behavior has shown time and again that he cannot be trusted. It’s nice to have his famous friends pat him on the back and say, “It’s all good.” But the community he hurt the most has no reason to trust that his apology is genuine.
If he had been honest, he would have taken the initiative to repair the damage he caused.
He can officially withdraw the song “Heil Hitler” and disavow it explicitly, directly and publicly.
He could meet with Jewish leaders or artists to have a public conversation about his rehabilitation and to make amends.
He could offer to donate a portion of his huge wireless profits to one or more Jewish charitable organizations in the UK – where attacks against Jews, synagogues and Jewish businesses are among the highest ever recorded.
An apology letter is just that: words on paper. Advertisement, generates publicity before a concert tour. It does not erase years of abuse.
I believe in tolerance, but it takes much more than that. Then again, I don’t benefit from his appearance at Wireless.
Until Yee shows his commitment to rebuilding trust — not just with the Jewish community, but with all the fans he has left sad and disappointed by his hateful rhetoric over the past several years — he should not be given a platform to perform.
To do so is to be implicitly complicit in what these companies know is wrong, unethical, and unethical.
I hope Budweiser, Beat Box Beverages, Drip water, and Big Green Coach come to the same conclusion.
