Wiley‘s past antisemitism has finally cost him his MBE, as the so-called “Godfather of Grime” continues to receive a fallout from his behavior.
According to the BBC, the MBE — or Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire — was awarded to the rapper back in 2017, and given to him for his “outstanding achievement, or service to the community that has had a long-term, significant impact.”
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However, the honor was stripped from Wiley as of Friday (February 23) due to his “bringing the honours system into disrepute” for a series of comments dating back to 2020.
“Anti-Semites like Wiley must understand that we will work tirelessly to hold them to account,” said Stephen Silverman, director of investigations for the CAA, in a statement to the outlet. “For four years, we have worked to ensure that Wiley faces ruinous consequences for his unhinged anti-Semitic tirade, for which he has shown no remorse. Today’s decision is a vindication of that effort.”
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News of Wiley’s MBE loss comes four years after he came under fire for a series of tweets disparaging Jewish people as well as longtime foe Drake, who identifies as half-Jewish.
At the time, the UK star was dropped by his management team, A-List Management.
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“Following Wiley’s antisemitic tweets today we at A-List Management have cut all ties with him,” Wiley’s former manager John Woolf said. “There is no place in society for antisemitism.”
Wiley sent out several tweets, including one liking the Jewish community to the Ku Klux Klan.
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“Ther are 2 sets of people who nobody has really wanted to challenge #Jewish & #KKK,” he wrote. “But being in business for 20 years you start to understand why … Red Necks Are the KKK and Jewish People are the Law…Work that out.”
He added, “Jewish people don’t care what black went through they just use us to make money to feed their kids…for generations as well.”
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Several of Wiley’s tweets were removed for violating Twitter Rules but he continued, even bringing Drake‘s name into the conversation, alleging that the “system” was “set up perfectly” for someone like the Toronto rapper.
“Get that anti semetic bullshit out of here and take @drake with you on god,” he wrote. He later added, “Everything I am saying is the reason drake can’t have black excellence ….Ask Diddy or jay z.”
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Wiley’s longtime issues with Drake stem from when the UK grime artist called the Toronto rapper a “culture vulture” in 2019 for attending a show headlined by London-based rapper Loski.
“Culture vulture and pagan Strikes again,” the veteran artist tweeted.
Drake responded to the comments in a BBC 1Xtra interview, calling it some “real confused hater shit.”
“I hate that people think that me being into music from these kids that are trying to make it and trying to build a name for themselves is like, ‘Oh, that’s some culture vulture,’” he said. “What does that even mean? I don’t understand what that means. Would you rather me not acknowledge anything or support?
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“That’s some real confused hater shit. But, it is what it is. I see it a lot. I’ll never understand how supporting somebody’s song or even going a step further, giving somebody a song or linking up, I’ll never understand how that is not viewed as something admirable. But, I guess some people have their own outlook on it.”
He added, “It was Wiley that said that,” he noted. “I’ll just say his name ’cause that was some goofy shit. But, yeah, I just didn’t like that. Like, what you talking ’bout?”
