Earlier this month, the controversial rapper was banned from entering the U.K., a move that led to the cancellation of the Wireless Festival, where Ye was set to headline.
Ye denied entry to UK prompting Wireless Festival cancellation
U.K. officials denied Ye entry ahead of Wireless Festival, forcing cancellation and refunds over concerns about antisemitism.
A week after his headlining gig at Wireless Festival was canceled, Ye is postponing his show in Marseille, France, a fresh disruption to a tour that has drawn opposition from critics over his previous celebration of Nazism.
The Grammy-winning emcee, formerly known as Kanye West, wrote in an April 14 X post that he had made the decision “after much thought and consideration.” Ye had been scheduled to perform on June 11 at the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille.
“I know it takes time to understand the sincerity of my commitment to make amends,” Ye, 48, wrote on Tuesday. “I take full responsibility for what’s mine, but I don’t want to put my fans in the middle of it.”
Media reports said French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had been seeking to block Ye from performing. Marseille’s mayor, Benoît Payan, said in March that Ye was not welcome to perform in the city.
Ye’s representatives and record label did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The controversial rapper was barred from Australia last July after releasing “Heil Hitler,” a song promoting Nazism. He also advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website.
In January, Ye took out a full‑page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal to apologize for his behavior, which he attributed to an undiagnosed brain injury and untreated bipolar disorder, and renounced past expressions of admiration for Adolf Hitler.
Earlier this month, Britain refused permission for Ye to enter the country over his past antisemitic comments after he was booked to headline London’s Wireless Festival in July. The festival was then canceled.
The rapper has performed in the U.S. and Mexico City this year, and on Wednesday, a new date appeared in his calendar showing he would play in the western Polish city of Chorzów on June 19. Other European and Asian shows are planned this summer.