A Kanye West concert in Poland has been canceled, the venue has announced, following government pressure and condemnation over a string of antisemitic, racist, and pro-Nazi comments by the US rapper. West, also known as Ye, was scheduled to appear at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów on June 19, his first performance in Poland for 15 years, but the venue said on Friday it would now not take place due to formal and legal reasons.
Marta Cienkowska, Poland's culture and heritage minister, had described the decision to book West as unacceptable. This decision comes days after West postponed a gig in France and a week after the UK banned him from entering the country to headline the Wireless Festival.
In February last year, West started selling swastika T-shirts, prompting the commerce platform Shopify to take down his web store. Three months later, he released the track 'Heil Hitler,' in which he claimed a child custody battle and the freezing of his financial assets turned him towards Nazism.
Earlier this year, prior to the announcement of his European tour and the release of his latest album, the rapper apologized for his actions in a statement published as a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite, he wrote. I love Jewish people. West mentioned he had lost touch with reality due to his bipolar disorder.
Promoting Nazi symbols is a criminal offense in Poland, and individuals found guilty can face up to three years in prison. The backlash against West's comments is particularly poignant in Poland, where the Nazi regime was responsible for the deaths of three million Polish Jews during World War II.
The town of Chorzów was one of the first invaded by German forces at the outset of the conflict in September 1939. Culture minister Cienkowska noted, We are talking about an artist who has publicly expressed antisemitic views, downplayed crimes, and profited from selling swastika T-shirts. This is a deliberate crossing of boundaries and the normalization of hatred. Culture cannot be a space for those who exploit it to spread hatred.
Prior to the stadium announcement, a spokesman for the culture minister indicated that blocking the concert was not straightforward due to the absence of an applicable law. However, the Polish foreign ministry agreed the concert should not take place. West was supposed to headline the Wireless Festival in London and perform in Marseille as part of his European tour; however, Wireless was canceled after the UK government blocked his visa, and the Marseille show has also been postponed indefinitely.
Marta Cienkowska, Poland's culture and heritage minister, had described the decision to book West as unacceptable. This decision comes days after West postponed a gig in France and a week after the UK banned him from entering the country to headline the Wireless Festival.
In February last year, West started selling swastika T-shirts, prompting the commerce platform Shopify to take down his web store. Three months later, he released the track 'Heil Hitler,' in which he claimed a child custody battle and the freezing of his financial assets turned him towards Nazism.
Earlier this year, prior to the announcement of his European tour and the release of his latest album, the rapper apologized for his actions in a statement published as a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite, he wrote. I love Jewish people. West mentioned he had lost touch with reality due to his bipolar disorder.
Promoting Nazi symbols is a criminal offense in Poland, and individuals found guilty can face up to three years in prison. The backlash against West's comments is particularly poignant in Poland, where the Nazi regime was responsible for the deaths of three million Polish Jews during World War II.
The town of Chorzów was one of the first invaded by German forces at the outset of the conflict in September 1939. Culture minister Cienkowska noted, We are talking about an artist who has publicly expressed antisemitic views, downplayed crimes, and profited from selling swastika T-shirts. This is a deliberate crossing of boundaries and the normalization of hatred. Culture cannot be a space for those who exploit it to spread hatred.
Prior to the stadium announcement, a spokesman for the culture minister indicated that blocking the concert was not straightforward due to the absence of an applicable law. However, the Polish foreign ministry agreed the concert should not take place. West was supposed to headline the Wireless Festival in London and perform in Marseille as part of his European tour; however, Wireless was canceled after the UK government blocked his visa, and the Marseille show has also been postponed indefinitely.
