Kanye West wants to turn his career around, but that might not be as easy as he thinks. He's booked multiple gigs overseas recently that have ended up getting canceled amid outrage from the Jewish community, politicians, and more. Now, he's scheduled to headline Northern Italy's Hellwat Festival in July, but that booking could see a similar fate.
Variety reports that Reggio Emilia's anti-fascist resistance groups, trade unions, and politicians are demanding that the performance be canceled. Vice President of the European Parliament and senior member of Italy’s Democratic Party, Pina Picierno, believes the government needs to intervene.
“The United Kingdom denied the visa. France effectively prevented the Marseille concert,” she told La Gazzetta di Reggio. “Italy, meanwhile, is just staying idle with 68,000 tickets sold, as if nothing had happened.”
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Kanye West Wireless Festival Controversy
Artistic director of Hellwat Festival, Victor Yari Milani, addressed the controversy in a statement to ANSA. He called the event “a space for free artistic expression.”
“The artist’s past comments have certainly provoked a legitimate reaction, but we also want to remember that Ye formally apologized through the Wall Street Journal in January, stating that he is not a Nazi or antisemite but suffers from bipolar disorder," he explained. “I would add that we have asked him to apologize in Italy as well."
News of the uproar surrounding Ye's upcoming Italian festival appearance comes just a few weeks after Wireless Festival was canceled due to his ban from the UK. It also comes amid reports that he could be banned from France ahead of his performance in Marseille. The show his currently set to take place in June. Ye has faced additional cancellations in Poland and Switzerland in recent weeks.
