Kanye West has been spotted looking downcast after being banned from the UK and having four shows cancelled in the past few weeks.
Earlier this month the American rapper, 48, came under the spotlight following backlash to him being announced as the headliner to the Wireless Festival in London.
Although the organisers doubled down on the decision to book the controversial musician – who in recent years has been slammed for making antisemitic, racist, sexist, and homophobic comments – they eventually had to call it off after the Home Office refused to grant West a UK visa.
It said the permission had been denied because his ‘presence would not be conducive to the public good’.
Within days the rapper announced he was postponing a show in France following calls from him to also be banned from entering the country.
In the past few days, he’s since had two more shows cancelled – in Poland and Switzerland.
West – who recently dropped his latest album Bully – had been due to play at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów on June 19, his first performance in Poland in 15 years.
However, this weekend the venue announced it would no longer take place ‘due to formal and legal reasons’.
That cancellation came after the country’s culture and heritage minister Marta Cienkowska described the decision to book West as ‘unacceptable’.
‘We are talking about an artist who has publicly made antisemitic views, downplayed crimes and profited from selling swastika T-shirts. These are not “controversies”. This is a deliberate crossing of boundaries and the normalisation of hatred,’ she posted on X.
Since then, Swiss soccer club FC Basel has also pulled the plug on an upcoming concert as it was not ‘in accordance with our values to provide a platform for the artist in question within this context’.
Following the cancellation of four of his concerts in the past two weeks, West was seen publicly for the first time this weekend.
Doing his best to keep a low profile wearing a hoodie and keeping his head down while being snapped attending a dentist appointment in Los Angeles, the rapper was seen wearing a brown tracksuit set and did his best to avert his eyes from waiting photographers.
Earlier this month West performed two sold-out concerts at LA’s SoFi Stadium, but soon after the furore over his Wireless Festival booking erupted.
Last year West released a song titled Heil Hitler, also wearing selling a T-shirt with a swastika on it after declaring himself a Nazi.
However, in January this year he took a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal, in which he issued an apology and said he was ‘deeply mortified’ by his past behaviour.
Attributing his actions to bipolar disorder, West declared he was ‘not a Nazi or an antisemite’ and that he ‘loves Jewish people’.
He had previously launched into online rants praising Hitler, opposing abortion and gay marriage, supporting gun rights, and endorsing US President Donald Trump.
When defending the decision to book him as the only headliner for Wireless Festival, organisers addressed the backlash and shared a statement which read: ‘Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had. As YE said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this, still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the UK.’
Before the shows were cancelled, West issued a brief statement in which he said his ‘only goal’ was to ‘come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music’.
‘I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen.
‘I know words aren’t enough – I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here. With love, Ye.’
His three headlining shows were due to take place at the Finsbury Park festival in July, with the appearance estimated to have earnt him well over an estimated £1million per night.
However major sponsors including Pepsi, Rockstar Energy, PayPal and Diageo, which owns Captain Morgan rum and Johnnie Walker whisky, then all dropped out and announced they would remove all branding and support.
West is next due to play in New Delhi, India, on May 23. Subsequent shows are set to be held in Istanbul, Arnhem, Reggio Emilia, Madrid and in the Algarve.
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