The rapper formerly known as Kanye West has stepped back from an appearance in the French city of Marseille after authorities said they would seek to ban the concert.
The retreat by the rapper follows a ban last week that prevented him from entering the U.K., where he was scheduled to headline the now cancelled Wireless Festival in July, following a backlash over the artist’s history of antisemitic remarks, as Breitbart News reported.
Now he has been forced to reconsider again.
“After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice,” Ye – as he now calls himself – wrote Wednesday on the social network X.
“I know it takes time to understand the sincerity of my commitment to make amends.”
The disgraced 48-year-old hip-hop star, who changed his name in 2021, had been expected to play at Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome on June 11, AP reports.
French Interior minister Laurent Nuñez had pledged to explore “all possibilities” to make sure the show would not proceed, according to his office.
Earlier this year, the AP report notes 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.
UK newspaper front pages and articles display stories about Kanye West after he was blocked by the government from entering the UK on April 8, 2026. The Wireless Festival has been cancelled after the UK Home Office confirmed that headline act Kanye West, also known as Ye, would be denied entry to the United Kingdom. (Mark Case/Getty Images)
“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.”
Despite the UK and France cancellations, West will still be seen and heard elsewhere in coming weeks.
Several European dates on his official website include:
30 May, Istanbul: Ataturk Olympic Stadium
6 June, Arnhem: GelreDome
8 June, Arnhem: GelreDome
11 June, Marseille: Orange Vélodrome
18 July, Reggio Emilia: RCF Arena
30 July, Madrid: Riyadh Air Metropolitano
7 August, Algarve: Estádio Algarve
He’s also scheduled to play in New Delhi, India on 23 May.
West has drawn widespread condemnation for making antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler.
He 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 last year after the release of the single.
It was not the first time Australia considered blocking West. In 2023, Australia’s education minister Jason Clare had also condemned West’s “awful” comments on Hitler and the Holocaust, and suggested he could be denied entry.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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