Kanye West will no longer be performing in Poland after the venue cancelled his upcoming show amid mounting political pressure regarding his history of racist, antisemitic and pro-Nazi statements, BBC reports.
The controversial American rapper, who also goes by the name Ye, was set to take the stage at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzow on June. It would have marked his first Polish performance in 15 years, but venue officials confirmed on Friday that the event had been scrapped citing unspecified «formal and legal reasons».
The cancellation follows strong condemnation from the Polish government. Marta Cienkowska, the country’s culture and heritage minister, had publicly branded the booking as «unacceptable».
This latest setback for West’s European tour comes shortly after a planned concert in France was indefinitely postponed and just a week after the UK government denied him entry.
His UK visa block forced him to pull out of headlining London’s Wireless Festival, which subsequently led to the cancellation of the entire event. Meanwhile, his scheduled show in Marseille remains suspended until further notice.
Controversies and apologies
West’s recent career has been heavily overshadowed by extreme rhetoric. In February of last year, he began selling clothing featuring swastikas, leading e-commerce giant Shopify to suspend his online store. Only three months later, he released a song titled Heil Hitler where he claimed that financial struggles and a child custody dispute had driven him towards Nazi ideology.
Ahead of his album release and European tour announcement in January, the musician attempted to backtrack by taking out a full-page apology in the Wall Street Journal. He blamed his severe bipolar disorder for causing him to lose touch with reality, stating:
«I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.»
Historical sensitivities
His past actions struck a deeply painful nerve in Poland. The nation suffered horrific atrocities under German occupation during the Second World War when the Nazi regime established extermination camps on Polish soil to murder millions of European Jews, including three million Polish Jews.
Chorzow, the city slated to host West’s concert, was actually one of the first areas to be invaded by German troops at the start of the conflict in September 1939.
Furthermore, the public promotion of Nazi symbols is a serious criminal offence in Poland that carries a maximum prison sentence of three years.
Posting on X, Ms Cienkowska stressed that West had crossed a deliberate line by profiting from hate symbols and downplaying historical atrocities.
«Culture cannot be a space for those who exploit it to spread hatred,» she stated.
Before the stadium officially axed the gig, Piotr Jedrzejewski, a spokesman for the culture minister, admitted to the BBC that legally blocking the concert was complex due to a lack of specific legislation. Despite this hurdle, he confirmed that the Polish foreign ministry was in full agreement that the performance should not be allowed to proceed.
