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A Slovakian festival set to headline Kanye West has been cancelled after a petition condemning the planned performance received thousands of signatures.
West, who is legally known as Ye, was due to headline Slovakia’s biggest rap festival, Rubicon, which was planned for July 18 to 20 in Bratislava. According to The Guardian, the festival claimed that it had secured an exclusive mid-July performance by the rapper, who they called a “hip-hop visionary, cultural icon and controversial genius”.
Upon the announcement of the performance, which was West’s only confirmed live performance in Europe this year, a petition was launched calling for him to be removed from the bill.
It accused the rapper of “repeatedly and openly adhering to symbols and [an] ideology connected with the darkest period of modern global history”, while calling the planned appearance as “an insult to historic memory, a glorification of wartime violence and debasement of all victims of the Nazi regime”.
Additionally, the petition also called it “unacceptable” for Bratislava to host a performance by West due to “his dangerous public attitudes that are in direct conflict with European memory and historical responsibility”.
Now, in a statement shared on Instagram earlier this week, Rubicon organisers have announced that the event has been cancelled “due to media pressure and the withdrawal of several artists and partners”.
“This was not an easy decision,” they said, though they didn’t draw a direct line between the West’s planned set and the cancellation. “This is not the end of Rubicon. We are not giving up. We’re already working to come back stronger.”
Rubicon’s organisers initially addressed the petition in a statement, noting how Ye had previously expressed “unacceptable statements about the Jewish community and disturbing historical references”. However, it also said that the rapper “subsequently deleted his comments, publicly apologised and admitted that he needed time for self-reflection and professional help”.
“We believe that festivalgoers deserve to see one of the most influential artists of our time live – not for his past, but for his music,” it continued. “We believe that festival-goers deserve to see one of the most influential artists of our time live – not for his past, but for his music, his vision and his power to inspire.”
The latest of Ye’s controversies occurred on May 8 this year, the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, when he released a song called ‘Heil Hitler’. Earlier this year, he was also sued for discrimination and accused of texting “Hail Hitler” to Jewish Yeezy employee.
The song led to West being banned from travelling to Australia, with the country’s home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirming that the rapper’s visa has been revoked earlier this month.
Back in February, the rapper also wiped his Yeezy site clean, leaving only a white t-shirt with a large swastika on the chest available for sale. In previous years, Ye had delivered a series of antisemitic comments during an interview with far-right commentator Gavin McInnes.
Ye also recently claimed that he has been having dreams about apologising to his long-time collaborator Jay-Z.
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