Kanye West has been trying to apologize for his antisemitic remarks and move on with new concerts and music to share with fans. Amid his show in Portugal tonight (Friday, August 7), Israel's embassy in the country has spoken out against it and labeled the move a disgrace for the nation and its people.
As caught by Euronews, ambassador Oren Rozenblat posted a video to Instagram condemning Ye and his concert. Rozenblat reportedly called for the cancelation of the performance, pointing to examples of the Chicago artist's hate speech. These include saying slavery was a choice, praising Adolf Hitler, engaging in Nazi rhetoric and aesthetics while praising the regime, and making disparaging or threatening comments about Jewish people.
The Israeli embassy in Portugal believe this constitutes hate speech rather than just controversy, pointing to other countries punishing Kanye West for his actions. The embassy also reportedly asked the mayor of Faro to cancel the concert and urged the general public to refrain from attending.
Reportedly, the CEO and co-founder of the event's organizer, Raya Culture, called the cancelation of the show a "non-issue." "It is a music event that is going ahead. It would become an issue if the security services identified a national threat to public order, which is not the case," Torcato Jorge reportedly stated.
Kanye West's Tour
It seems like the Portugal show at the Algarve Stadium will move forward as planned. Whether or not more firm consequences are in the future, this will continue to be a point of accountability and debate for Ye. His apologies have not been enough to quell the backlash against him and his continued success.
Elsewhere, future concerts at press time include Kazakhstan, New Orleans, Chicago, and Indonesia. We will see if any of those experience any cancelations or controversies, let alone similar issues concerning condemnations.
In the meantime, Kanye West is still dealing with legal trouble, whether it's over musical collaborations or a settled sexual harassment lawsuit. But throughout it all, the Yeezy mogul has more fans to entertain, more music to share, and more wrongs to right. It's been a turbulent process, but the shows have all gone pretty well.
