US rapper’s concert Kanye Westwhich was due to take place on July 18 in Reggio Emilia, northern Italy, has been banned for public safety reasons, authorities said.
Kanye West concert banned in Italy
The prefect of the province, Salvatore Angieri, said that the decision was made following the requests of the internal organizations of the local Jewish community.They expressed “reservations” about the rapper’s appearance as part of the Pulse of Gaia festival in a statement released on Friday evening.
Travis Scott Banned in Italy
On July 17, another US concert by rapper Travis Scott has been canceled.
The reason for the ban
“The decision … has been taken for reasons of protecting public order and security, given the tight timing of the events and the large crowd expected within 24 hours,” the prefecture said.“In the overall assessment, the cancellation of previous concerts by the American rapper in other countries and the specific risk of the counter-demonstration also weighed.”
The Kanye West controversy
West, also known as Ye, has sparked controversy with statements and songs praising Adolf Hitler, as well as anti-Semitic diatribes attributed to his bipolar disorder.The scandal has led to the cancellation of the concert series.Last month, the UK government banned him from entering the country, and the festival, which was due to take place in July, was cancelled.They were also forced to cancel a planned concert in the southern French city of Marseille, while they have also stopped playing in Poland and Switzerland.West performed in Istanbul on Saturday and is still scheduled to appear in the Netherlands on June 6 and 8, Tirana on July 11 and Prague on July 25.In January, he took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal saying he was “not a Nazi or anti-Semitic,” adding, “I love Jews.”
