Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is dealing with a lot of turbulence amid his new album BULLY. Mainly, that's because of the canceled, postponed, and ban-affected concerts he sought to host in or around Europe, namely in the United Kingdom, Poland, and France. But Kanye has other shows to look forward to. These include two in the Netherlands on June 6 and June 8 at Arnhem's Gelredome Stadium. As reported by Billboard, the city's mayor Ahmed Marcouch spoke on potentially banning him and why it doesn't seem likely.
There's reportedly public and parliament pressure to cancel the shows or ban the Chicago artist from entering the Netherlands. While the mayor called Ye's past antisemitism rhetoric "disgusting," he said there might not be legal basis to ban Kanye West or cancel his shows.
"Members of Parliament have the power to make laws. So instead of constantly posting all kinds of messages on X, they can also limit behavior they deem undesirable by law," Marcouch reportedly told NRC. "Within the framework of the law, the mayor should not pass judgment on the content of a cultural activity. That concerns freedom of expression. What I can look at are the permit applications for the two concerts. They are currently being processed as we speak. This concerns, among other things, safety and public order. If the organization meets the requirements of the permit, then we simply have to grant that permit."
Kanye West Concerts
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Gijsbertus van den Brink, reportedly said there's "no legal basis" to ban Kanye for his previous remarks, according to RTL News. "Based on what is currently known to me, I have no indication that an entry ban may apply to this," he reportedly added.
Mayor Marcouch added: "Making racist and antisemitic statements is already a punishable offense. But he has to make them first. Now it concerns someone who did something in the past and, for that reason, would not be allowed to come to the Netherlands. Regarding that, the Minister rightly said, ‘There is no legal basis for that'... I observe that Members of Parliament want something and call upon the Minister to do something. While the Minister says, ‘I have no legal basis to deny that man entry.’ If the Minister comes to that conclusion after all the indignation and calls from the House, then you shouldn’t start shouting again that someone is not allowed to come.
"Then you have to create a legal basis so that the Minister can do those kinds of things," he continued. "I am also pleased that in our constitutional state, as a citizen, you are not dependent on the arbitrariness of a mayor or any other authority. That the law prevails."
Kanye West also has upcoming shows scheduled in Istanbul, India, Spain, Portugal, and Italy this year. We will see what the Netherlands decide here.
Read More: Kanye West "Bully" Album Review
