Azealia Banks has been removed as a headliner from the Milkshake Festival following protests from the trans community over her controversial past statements.

The LGBTQ+ community opposed Banks' involvement due to her history of controversial comments about trans women. In 2021, she made derogatory remarks about trans women and suggested they were using "male aggression" to enter women's spaces. In 2023, she sparked further controversy by arguing against prioritizing gender-affirming surgery over elderly healthcare.

Notably, Banks recently criticized J.K. Rowling's anti-trans stance on X/Twitter, stating that "trans women are not a threat to your femininity" and questioning how someone who writes about magic couldn't understand varying states of consciousness.

The Milkshake Festival organizers acknowledged their oversight in an Instagram statement: "We take responsibility for not fully considering the potential impact of this booking. When booking artists, we focus on the contribution their music has made to spaces that matter to us. But their public persona should not go completely unnoticed."

In a follow-up statement, the festival confirmed: "Azealia Banks will not be performing at Milkshake Festival 2025. It is clear to us that we made a mistake and that we have overlooked essential information. We sincerely apologize for this."

The organizers emphasized that the statement reflects only their organizational standpoints, not those of Banks' management team. They maintain their commitment to creating platforms for artists while acknowledging their responsibility to consider artists' public statements and their impact on the community.

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