Ye performing at the Bråvalla Festival in Sweden. Photo by Axel Antas-Bergkvist on Unsplash

Wednesday afternoon it was announced that the UK’s Wireless music festival had been cancelled, less than 24 hours before tickets were due to go on sale (and mere hours after the event’s presale had been opened, and swiftly sold out).

In previous years, Wireless had attracted headline acts such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z and Rhianna, so anticipation for this summer’s event was running high. What could collapse such a successful operation?

Enter, Kanye West… or, to go by his current moniker, Ye.

Organisers readily lined up the rapper to headline all three nights of Wireless in July – providing audiences with Ye’s first UK performance in 11 years. It was set to be historic.

Instead, Wireless became the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons. Ye’s blatant, frequent and seemingly enthusiastic antisemitic, racist and pro-Nazi rhetoric in recent years has become as big a discussion point in media as his music (and sometimes the two have blended together). As a result, it’s perhaps not surprising that his announcement as Wireless’ headline act was met with such intense backlash.

Within hours, sponsors – most notably Pepsi which had severed its own ties with Ye some years earlier – had pulled out in their droves. Calls were made to the UK Government to deny Ye entry to the country, and social media was ablaze with criticism for the organisers and their tone-deaf response to the court of public opinion.

The Dangers Of Sticking To Your Guns

In response to media questioning, Melvin Benn, MD of Festival Republic which organises Wireless insisted that Ye’s booking hadn’t raised concern with any of their stakeholders, seemingly defending their decision despite increasing pressure to remove Ye from the lineup.

His own personal statement, released in the days before tickets went on sale was firmly in defence of Ye’s booking, and advocated for understanding. Ye had, after all, issued a highly public apology via the Wall St Journal last year for his behaviour, citing mental health struggles to be at the heart of his actions. Allowing Ye to perform, he suggested, was an opportunity for the public to extend forgiveness.

On BBC Radio 4 this week Benn was asked if Festival Republic had thought to consult with the public – notably the Jewish community, before bringing Ye to London. “Potentially we should have done,” he admitted. “And that may prove to be a mistake that we made.”

A mistake Ye seemingly tried to rectify retrospectively. “I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen,” he said in a statement released the same afternoon. “I know words aren’t enough – I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here.”

Too little too late. Just hours later, with mounting pressure, not only had Ye’s entry to the UK been blocked by the Home Office, but his headline slot had been taken away. In fact, the plug had been pulled on the entire festival, resulting in further outcry as festival goers were now left without an event to attend and likely a refund to pursue.

A moral victory for the masses, but an unmitigated disaster for organisers.

Ye may go on to fill the gap in his diary (he played shows in LA just last week, proving his popularity, despite his controversial persona, is still high) but what will Benn go on to do next? Most importantly, how can Benn and other Wireless organisers recover from such a catastrophic misstep?

Research from Corvinus University of Budapest suggests that perhaps Benn, and even Ye, should have taken a more honest, authentic approach when it comes to owning up to their transgressions.

Celebrities, the study finds, shouldn’t deny a scandal on social media. Audiences expect explanations, but even more than that, they expect accountability, say Researchers Alima Maligenova and Assistant Professor Admilson Veloso da Silva.

After a crisis, celebrities shouldn’t bury their heads in the sand, or go on the defensive. They also shouldn’t opt for cold, overly scripted statements. Those who openly express remorse and apologise on Instagram were found to secure greater levels of support and understanding, and receive fewer negative comments in relation to their actions.

The research analysed crisis statements shared by 15 A-list celebrities on Instagram, including; Adele, Alec Baldwin, Johnny Depp, Jamie Foxx, Evangeline Lilly, Lizzo, Jason Momoa, and Snoop Dogg – all of whom have faced notable public scandal in recent years – along with the 450 most liked comments for each.

Posts were grouped according to strategies employed by celebrities and their teams to repair their public images; denial, evasion of responsibility, reducing the offensiveness of the act, corrective action, and mortification.

The researchers then analysed the data to see what patterns emerged.

Showing remorse, regret, and acceptance of responsibility was found to prompt the most positive reactions and fewest critical comments. Denial was often used in the most serious crises, and was found to elicit the highest level of negative response from audiences.

Avoiding responsibility also led to a greater number of negative comments from audiences. For example, following the fatal shooting on the set of Rust, Alec Baldwin’s description of the incident as an accident (likely phrasing he’d been advised to use by his team) rather than accepting personal responsibility was interpreted by many commenters as a lack of empathy. Regardless of truth or intent, his words did little to stem the flow of criticism.

Whilst the researchers note that celebrity crises are typically linked to personal conduct rather than organisational damage, which places greater importance on the level of sincerity and personal tone they use in their public communications, there is plenty for Benn and others at Festival Republic to learn here.

Doubling down on defence of a poor decision, glazing over or making light of the concerns of influential stakeholders and customers, and avoiding or deflecting from responsibility did little to diffuse the issue.

One user on Reddit put it most bluntly “I don’t see Wireless coming back from this. Good riddance.”

Listening, acknowledging fault, expressing a genuine desire to work to a solution might have led to a better outcome – perhaps even kept the festival on the calendar (albeit with a different headline act).

Is Social Media The Best Place For a Public Apology?

Lessons were, apparently, not learned. Notification of the event’s cancellation came via a single statement shared with press and across social media on the Wireless Festival’s official accounts (Festival Republic, as yet, has not acknowledged the cancellation on its own channels). It was short and offered no apology, appearing instead to lay the blame for the cancellation at the Government’s feet. “As a result of the Home Office banning YE from entering the United Kingdom, Wireless Festival has been forced to cancel. All ticket holders will receive an automatic full refund.”

Comments were far from positive. Those happy with the cancellation expressed disappointment at the lack of apology or accountability, whereas those who had bought tickets and were disappointed to lose the entire event as a result of one bad booking and criticised Wireless for their churlishness -seemingly throwing all their toys out of the pram. Ye’s UK fan base were also far from satisfied.

Should the message shared on social media taken a different approach? The research from Corvinus suggests yes.

It argues that Instagram is a forum for public accountability. It is a space where people talk, engage and debate. As such, tone is vital. Whilst wireless is an organisation not an individual, it may have been decided by organisers to keep statements brief and factual, but in recovering a reputational nightmare and securing the event’s return in 2027, perhaps leadership figures like Benn might have done well to share a more personal and sympathetic message alongside the official notification.

However, Instagram engagement does not offer a quick reputation fix. For individuals, other aspects can also interfere with the audience’s perception of a crisis on the platform; the timing of a response, its transparency, sincerity, and credibility all matter just as much as the words themselves.  

So, the researchers note, does prior character and reputation – meaning there was little that could have been salvaged by Ye himself. The sheer volatility of his troubling behaviour cannot be forgotten or forgiven, as he discovered last year, with an apology or a promise to do better. There is a limit to what people can accept.

Whilst Benn does not appear to have a social media presence, now could be the right time to sign up. After all, it seems at this point he has very little to lose.

What happens next?

Research shows that how people choose to respond to a crisis of reputation can make all the difference when it comes to professional recovery.

In a similar vein to Corvinus’ findings, research from the University of Buffalo School of Management and published by the Academy of Management finds that showing your human side – admitting fault embracing humility, can provide the opportunity for recovery, growth and even greater success.

Researchers Owens & Hekman conducted in-depth interviews with leaders across multiple high-stakes industries; from public sector like military and healthcare, to private sector like finance and retail. The aim was to understand how humble, human leaders can inspire more positive workforces and facilitate even better personal success.

The researchers uncovered three core findings. Firstly, by showing their human sides (including the unflattering parts) leaders could build trust with their teams. Leaders who could overcome their fears and their pride and share their feelings were viewed more favourably by their followers, and helped to legitimise followers’ own feelings and attitudes to their work.

Secondly, they saw that the ability to admit mistakes was a core leadership skill rather than a liability. Such accountability provided teaching moments for all, as staff became more adept at solving problems, enabling organisations to overcome hurdles more easily in the future.

Similarly, teams that were afforded more opportunities to learn, try, fail and recover were more engaged as a result, leading to lower levels of staff turnover, and a more productive workforce.

Research from Sussex Business School finds a similar conclusion. A survey which analysed over 600 leaders across different industries and job roles, found that humble leaders wield significant influence within their organisations – being more likeable, trusted by staff and higher-ups.

Moving forward

Mistakes and missteps happen, but what counts is how you manage them and move forward.

Showing a little humanity in the face of a significant professional setback – not to mention a reputational one – can make all the difference in how a person emerges on the other side.

And, if that fails, there’s a lot to be said for starting over somewhere new.

By, Kerry Ruffle

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