Grime artist Wiley is dropped by management

Grime artist Wiley is DROPPED by his management firm and banned from Twitter over ‘anti-Semitic slurs’ online – as campaign calls for total shutdown of his social media to prevent ‘further outpouring of anti-Jewish venom’

  • Rapper Wiley accused yesterday of launching a 12-hour Antisemitic Twitter rant
  • Manager John Woolf this morning said they had ‘cut all ties’ with the rapper 
  • Mr Woolf, who is Jewish, wrote on Twitter: ‘Following Wileys anti semitic tweets today we at @A_ListMGMT have cut all ties with him. There is no place in society for antisemitism’

By Ryan Fahey For Mailonline and Press Association

Published: 03:26 EDT, 25 July 2020 | Updated: 06:10 EDT, 25 July 2020

Grime artist Wiley has been given a temporary ban from Twitter and been dropped by his management company over accusations of anti-Semitism.

The musician posted a screenshot on Instagram this morning, showing he had been given a temporary Twitter ban but will be allowed back into his account later this morning.

He also posted a video in which he said ‘crawl out from under your little rocks and defend your Jewish privilege’.

However, the social media platform has been accused of ‘ignoring anti-semitism’ because his tweets are still visible 12 hours after they were first posted. 

The musician’s manager John Woolf said A-List Management had ‘cut all ties’ with the musician following a series of social media posts made on accounts belonging to him on Friday. 

The Campaign Against Antisemitism has asked police to investigate the content and called for Wiley’s accounts to be shut down ‘to prevent further outpouring of anti-Jewish venom’. 

The rapper, pictured, is acknowledged as The Godfather of Grime and received an Ivor Novello award in 2019

The rapper, pictured, is acknowledged as The Godfather of Grime and received an Ivor Novello award in 2019

The rapper, pictured, is acknowledged as The Godfather of Grime and received an Ivor Novello award in 2019

Rapper Wiley, pictured at the Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park, has been accused of embarking on a 12-hour Antisemitic rant on Twitter

Rapper Wiley, pictured at the Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park, has been accused of embarking on a 12-hour Antisemitic rant on Twitter

Rapper Wiley, pictured at the Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park, has been accused of embarking on a 12-hour Antisemitic rant on Twitter

Wiley made a series of outlandish claims on his twitter feed during the day which resulted in complaints

Wiley made a series of outlandish claims on his twitter feed during the day which resulted in complaints

Wiley made a series of outlandish claims on his twitter feed during the day which resulted in complaints

Mr Woolf, who is Jewish, wrote on Twitter on Saturday morning: ‘Following Wileys anti semitic tweets today we at @A_ListMGMT have cut all ties with him. There is no place in society for antisemitism.’

 He told MailOnline yesterday: ”To be very clear here. I do not support or condone what Wiley has said today online in any way shape or form. 

‘I am a proud Jewish man and I am deeply shocked and saddened but what he has chosen to say. 

‘I am speaking to key figures in my community in light of today’s tweets. This behaviour and hateful speech is not acceptable to me.’ 

One post on an unverified Twitter account in Wiley’s name, which Mr Woolf confirmed to the PA news agency belongs to the star, read: ‘I would challenge the whole world of Jewish community on my own I am not scared I can handle them.’

Wiley, known as the Godfather of Grime and whose real name is Richard Cowie, received an MBE for services to music in 2018.

Mr Woolf earlier said in the 12 years in which he had worked with Wiley he ‘can say that he is not anti-Semitic’.

The musician's manager John Woolf (pictured in 2018) said A-List Management had 'cut all ties' with the musician following a series of social media posts made on accounts belonging to him on Friday

The musician's manager John Woolf (pictured in 2018) said A-List Management had 'cut all ties' with the musician following a series of social media posts made on accounts belonging to him on Friday

The musician’s manager John Woolf (pictured in 2018) said A-List Management had ‘cut all ties’ with the musician following a series of social media posts made on accounts belonging to him on Friday

In one tweet from yesterday, he compares the Jewish people to the Ku Klux Klan

In one tweet from yesterday, he compares the Jewish people to the Ku Klux Klan

In one tweet from yesterday, he compares the Jewish people to the Ku Klux Klan

The singer's manager John Woolf yesterday completely disassociated himself with his client's messages. He told MailOnline: ''To be very clear here. I do not support or condone what Wiley has said today online in any way shape or form. I am a proud Jewish man and I am deeply shocked and saddened but what he has chosen to say. I am speaking to key figures in my community in light of today's tweets. This behaviour and hateful speech is not acceptable to me'

The singer's manager John Woolf yesterday completely disassociated himself with his client's messages. He told MailOnline: ''To be very clear here. I do not support or condone what Wiley has said today online in any way shape or form. I am a proud Jewish man and I am deeply shocked and saddened but what he has chosen to say. I am speaking to key figures in my community in light of today's tweets. This behaviour and hateful speech is not acceptable to me'

The singer’s manager John Woolf yesterday completely disassociated himself with his client’s messages. He told MailOnline: ”To be very clear here. I do not support or condone what Wiley has said today online in any way shape or form. I am a proud Jewish man and I am deeply shocked and saddened but what he has chosen to say. I am speaking to key figures in my community in light of today’s tweets. This behaviour and hateful speech is not acceptable to me’

The manager wrote on Twitter that he does not ‘support or condone what Wiley has said today online in anyway shape or form’.

He added: ‘We are going to help educate him here on this.’

In a statement issued on Friday, a spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: ‘Our Crime Unit has reported this matter to the Metropolitan Police Service as we consider that Wiley has committed the offence of incitement to racial hatred, which can carry a substantial prison sentence.

‘We have additionally asked Twitter and Facebook, which owns Instagram, to close down his accounts which have hundreds of thousands of followers, to prevent further outpouring of anti-Jewish venom.’

They added that they would be contacting the Cabinet Office to ask that Wiley’s MBE is revoked.

The spokesperson said: ‘Wiley has many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and we have seen today that many of them truly believe the unhinged hatred that he is spreading.

‘We are treating this as a very serious matter which must be met with the firmest of responses.’

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