Hasan Piker accused SXSW London of refusing to defend him and his uncle Cenk Uygur after both were banned from entering the U.K. Piker also railed at the festival’s statement, while British journalist Ash Sarkar withdrew from the event in solidarity.
When Hasan Piker tried to head to the U.K. for SXSW London, the trip didn’t make it past the Home Office. By Monday, Piker was already firing off a full-throated blast at the festival for what he called a lack of support after his visa was revoked—along with his uncle, Cenk Uygur.
“SXSW was a minor part of my trip to the U.K.,” Piker wrote on X on Monday. “They totally didn’t defend me or Cenk at all, they’re actual f–king losers and I will never work with them for the rest of my life. If you bought a ticket expecting to see me you should demand a refund.”
Piker, who was set to kick off Monday in London for the Austin, Texas-founded culture and arts festival, was due to appear this week in conversation with British journalist and libertarian communist political activist Ash Sarkar.
SXSW London responded with a careful, legal-sounding boundary. In a statement about Piker’s U.K. ban, a spokesperson said he “will therefore not be participating in the SXSW London programme this year.”
The statement added: “Decisions on entry to the U.K. are a matter for the Home Office and the individuals concerned. SXSW London’s role is to convene a broad range of diverse voices and perspectives. We remain focused on delivering a programme this week fostering open dialogue and exchange of ideas and featuring more than 800 speakers. artists and screenings.”.
Piker didn’t buy it. In a separate video on his Twitch page, he called SXSW’s statement “disgusting.”
“It’s not like they’re paying me, right?. I’m not getting paid by SXSW to do this, right?. It’s actually really insane. I’m doing this as a f—king favor and they’re literally farming donations off of my image off of my likeness. ” he said. “Then it’s crazy that they just. once the Home Office intervened and revoked my visa. when the Home Office intervened and revoked my visa. SXSW’s statement was disgusting. Like, it was literally nothing.”.
He accused the festival of limiting its reaction to compliance and deletion rather than advocacy. “To us, they were like, ‘Sorry, we have to abide by the governemnt’s demands.’ That was one. And then their public thing was they just deleted my background page. They just deleted my speaker page.”
The tension didn’t stay confined to Piker’s own platforms. Sarkar rescinded her festival duties in solidarity after reading SXSW’s statement about the U.K. denial of entry to Piker and Cenk Uygur.
Sarkar was due to chair the SXSW discussion and moderate a panel titled “Ctrl, Alt, Delusion: Resetting Reality in the Manosphere.” On Monday, she told SXSW she was withdrawing and urged others to follow.
“I pulled out of SXSW London, and I hope other speakers and chairs do too,” Sarkar wrote on X, sharing a screenshot of the email she sent to festival organizers.
“Having read the SXSW statement on Hasan and Cenk being denied entry to the U.K. I’m afraid I have to withdraw my participation. ” she wrote. “If I were in their shoes. I would hope any organization which invited me to speak. and had their programming interfered with by the Home Office. would have had the minimal expected integrity to offer some defense of lawful free expression and condemn government overreach.”.
Sarkar’s pullout followed the festival cutting the panel altogether, as she called on SXSW earlier Monday to host the Piker discussion remotely amid his visa ban.
Underpinning the entire standoff is the U.K. government’s rationale for blocking entry. In its own statement Monday. the Home Office said the decision to block Cenk and Piker’s visas was based “on the grounds that their presence in the U.K. may not be conducive to the public good. Decisions to refuse or cancel an ETA on these grounds are based solely on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to U.K. society.”.
But Cenk and Piker both insisted the bans were tied to criticism of Israel. On Sunday, Cenk wrote on X that he was banned from the U.K. and that he had tried to board a flight to London to attend SXSW London and give a speech at Oxford.
“I’ve been banned from the UK,” Cenk wrote on X. “I tried to get on a flight to London to attend SXSW London and give a speech at Oxford. I’ve been banned for criticizing Israel. Are we free anymore? This is oppression of Western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country!”
He added that “The UK has revoked my visa as well,” writing that it was “All at the behest of Israel.” He said, “The West is betraying ‘liberal values’ for a genocidal fascist foreign government. Soon we will all become Israel.”
The episode has left SXSW London stuck in a familiar but volatile position: uphold a program featuring “more than 800 speakers, artists and screenings,” while facing backlash over whether it did enough when the Home Office intervened and entry was denied.
Hasan Piker Cenk Uygur SXSW London UK visa ban Home Office Ash Sarkar SXSW London programme Twitch X