After being denied entry to the UK, American rapper Lil Wayne will no longer perform at the Strawberries and Creem festival, according to organizers.
Saturday’s show was to be his first in the United Kingdom in several years.
After his visa application was apparently refused by UK border authorities due to prior crimes, the 39-year-2011 old’s UK tour was canceled.
People condemned to a year or more in custody had their petitions denied, according to the Home Office.
We reached out to Lil Wayne for comment.
The festival’s organizers wrote in a statement on their website: “Due to extreme circumstances beyond our control or influence, we are very sorry to inform you that Lil Wayne is now unable to perform at the festival…
“Lil Wayne has been refused entry to the UK directly by the Home Office in a last-minute decision. We are deeply disappointed by this sudden and negative ruling.”
Instead, they announced that Grammy-winning rapper Ludacris would perform a “UK exclusive” set on Saturday.
The Home Office stated that it does not comment on particular cases on a regular basis.
It did, however, say; “Any individual who has been sentenced to a custodial sentence of 12 months or more must have their application refused.”
After pleading guilty to gun possession in 2010, the rapper, whose actual name is Dwayne Carter, was sentenced to a year in prison.
The allegations stemmed from his 2007 arrest, when a pistol was discovered on his tour bus.
When authorities inspected a private plane in Miami in December 2019, they discovered he was carrying a rifle and ammo, and he could have faced up to ten years in prison.
Former US President Donald Trump, on his last full day in office, awarded him a full White House pardon.
Since 2014, Strawberries and Creem has been operating.
The three-day music festival will take place in Childerley Orchard in Cambridge.
