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Yeezy season is cancelled
Kanye West, also known as Ye, has been barred from entering the UK this summer. He was scheduled to headline all three days of this year’s Wireless festival, but a huge backlash prompted the Home Office to ultimately revoke his ETA following years of racist and antisemitic comments.
Kanye West, also known as Ye, has been barred from entering the UK this summer.
The rapper and producer was scheduled to perform at Wireless Festival in London across three days in July, after selling out two massive shows in Los Angeles last week. He’s been attempting to make a mainstream comeback over the past few months following a year of racist comments and offensive behaviour. This included selling shirts with printed swastikas, praising Hitler, and wearing a black KKK uniform on a livestream.
Ye is also being sued for sexual assault by model Jennifer An, who alleges that he simulated ‘forced oral sex’ with his fingers on the set of a music video shoot.
Wireless Festival’s main sponsor, Pepsi Co, pulled out of the event as pressure mounted from the UK government. Prime Minister Keir Starmer eventually commented that Ye ‘should never have been invited’ to perform. The Home Office revoked his ETA, blocking him from entering the country, and the entire festival has now been cancelled. Ye, meanwhile, is set to undergo a European tour in May that includes Italy, Spain, and France, among other countries. Those shows appear to be going ahead.
As part of his efforts to win over public favour, Ye took out an entire page in the Wall Street Journal to apologise in January. He referred to a car crash in the early noughties that famously shattered his jaw as reasoning for his behaviour, explaining that his frontal lobe was damaged. He asked for understanding, acknowledged that he’d let the Jewish and Black communities down, and needed time to ‘find [his] way home.’ Given that Ye has apologised for unhinged antics many times over the years, only to relapse later, the public response was understandably sceptical.
As politicians swooped in on Wireless Festival, Ye said he had been ‘following the conversation’ and offered to meet representatives of the Jewish community ‘to listen.’ He added that ‘words aren’t enough,’ and that he would ‘have to show change through [his] actions.’ His ETA was revoked regardless.
With all its twists and turns, Ye’s ban has been met with a mixed response. There is concern that the UK government is overstepping its hand and making calls it shouldn’t, dictating who can visit Britain based on pure rhetoric alone. Has Ye’s behaviour been outlandish, offensive, and inexcusable? Of course. But no laws have been broken, and commentators quickly pointed out that no such restrictions are in place for other problematic figures that likely pose more of a threat than Ye.
We’ve seen the UK ban other artists in the past, such as Tyler, The Creator and Snoop Dogg. Where is the line, and should politicians be allowed to draw it?
By that same token, though, critics argue that celebrities and public figures must face consequences if they purposefully peddle hate speech. Ye has a long history of controversy, frequently making outlandish claims and being outspoken for the sake of publicity. He has called slavery a ‘choice,’ interrupted Taylor Swift at the VMAs, appeared alongside Candace Owens in a ‘white lives matter’ shirt, and continually aired his private grievances on X. At what point do we say enough is enough? Weaponising rage for engagement and relevancy at the cost of everyone else shouldn’t be allowed to slide. There should be repercussions.
These conflicting sentiments make it hard to decipher how Gen Z really feel about Kanye, and there isn’t a single, overarching opinion for all young people.
Ye’s streaming numbers are stronger than they’ve ever been, suggesting that he is still a commercial force to be reckoned with and is unlikely to ever truly disappear, despite all of his awful messaging. Shows are selling out across Europe and in Los Angeles, with his latest album ‘BULLY’ topping the charts in the US last week. His legacy, impact, and cultural longevity are undeniable and unshakeable. Gen Z have discovered and latched onto his discography in much the same way as millennials did twenty years ago, and Ye’s behaviour is ultimately secondary to his art.
We know that Gen Z have a particularly parasocial relationship with celebrities, following their every move online and projecting personal values onto individuals they don’t know in real life. Figures like Timothee Chalamet have been hit with backlash for failing to live up to an idea that fans had created in their heads, and while Ye doesn’t experience pressure in the same way, he does have an extremely loyal fan base. A certain section of that audience will follow everything he does, regardless of how offensive or unhinged it may be. People were actually buying those swastika shirts last year, after all.
The last few years of outrageous behaviour from figures like Donald Trump have shown that pushing the boundaries of acceptability can be a viable public relations strategy and lucrative if effective. There will no doubt be plenty of Gen Zers who despise Ye for his actions, but these sentiments won’t move the needle on his commercial viability. There will always be an audience and market appetite, even if the man himself is barred from half of Europe.
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