Ye Postpones Concert in France as Government Considers Banning It
The rapper formerly known as Kanye West had been scheduled to perform in Marseille, France, in June. The city’s mayor had said he did not want it to be “a showcase for those who promote hatred.”
Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, has postponed a concert planned for June in Marseille, France, as the French interior ministry said it was considering banning the event.
“After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice,” Ye wrote on X on Wednesday morning. This month, the British government barred Ye from entering the country to play a series of concerts because of his history of antisemitism.
Kanye West Calls Off France Show as Backlash Grows in Europe
West’s history of antisemitic comments has now cost him shows in Britain and France
PARIS—Kanye West indefinitely postponed a concert in France after the government said it was considering banning the event because of the singer’s history of antisemitic comments, only a week after the U.K. denied a visa to the controversial rapper.
West wrote on X that it was his “sole decision” to postpone the concert “until further notice.” He added in a subsequent message: “I take full responsibility for what’s mine but don’t want to put my fans in the middle of it.”
West’s planned concerts in Europe have become a flashpoint in the debate over how to handle and define antisemitism, which has surged since the Gaza war. Antisemitism is a particularly sensitive issue in Europe given the Holocaust killed an estimated 6 million of the continent’s Jews.