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Ye postpones Marseille concert after
French authorities say they will seek a ban
[April 15, 2026]
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
PARIS (AP)
— The rapper formerly known as Kanye West postponed his upcoming show in
the city of Marseille after French authorities said they would seek to
ban the concert.
The decision by Ye came a week after he was banned from entering the
U.K., where he was scheduled to headline the Wireless Festival in July,
following a backlash over the artist’s history of antisemitic remarks.
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In this Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, Kanye West, who changed his name to Ye
in 2021, appears at the WSJ. Magazine 2019 Innovator Awards at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York on Nov. 6, 2019. (Photo by Evan
Agostini/Invision/AP, File) |
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“After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to
postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice,” Ye
wrote Wednesday on the social network X. “I know it takes time
to understand the sincerity of my commitment to make amends."
The rapper, who changed his name in 2021, had been expected to
play at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome on June 11.
French Interior minister Laurent Nuñez had pledged to explore
“all possibilities” to make sure the show would not go on as
planned, according to his office.
Earlier this year, Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan opposed the
rapper’s visit to one of France’s most multicultural cities,
which has a history of immigration stretching back centuries.
“I refuse to let Marseille be a showcase for those who promote
hatred and unabashed Nazism,” Payan said. “Kanye West is not
welcome at the Vélodrome, our temple of community and home to
all Marseillais.”
Ye has drawn widespread condemnation for making antisemitic
remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler.
Ye released a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertised a
swastika T-shirt for sale on his website last year. Officials in
Australia canceled the musician’s visa in July after the release
of the single.
The 48-year-old apologized in January with a letter published as
a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal. He said
his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month long,
manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that
destroyed my life.”
Ye said in his latest message on X, “I take full responsibility
for what’s mine but I don’t want to put my fans in the middle of
it. My fans are everything to me. Looking forward to the next
shows. See you at the top of the globe.”
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