Kanye West's concerts in Russia were canceled due to his remarks about Hitler

Russian authorities opposed Kanye West’s concerts, which were scheduled to take place in October. Russian politicians criticized the rapper for his admiration of Adolf Hitler, after which the planned performances were canceled.

 

Specifically, two concerts by rapper Kanye West in St. Petersburg, scheduled for October 10 and 11, were canceled following several weeks of disputes between the organizers and Gazprom Arena.

In particular, the American agency Access Opera confirmed the cancellation of the concerts and urged Russians to contact the Russian organizer, Say Agency, for ticket refunds. No official reason for the cancellation was announced. According to The Moscow Times, local media reported that the cancellation followed a phone call “from above,” suggesting that the Kremlin may have intervened in the situation.

In the days leading up to the concerts, Russian politicians had expressed their dissatisfaction with the American artist’s upcoming concerts in St. Petersburg. For example, State Duma Deputy Nikolai Novichkov stated that he would demand their cancellation if the rapper did not express his solidarity with “the Russian people.” He also called on the Russian Ministry of Culture to investigate Kanye West’s statements about Nazism. “There can be no propaganda of Nazism in Russia, in principle,” the Russian official said.

Among those who spoke out against the foreign star’s concerts were also a number of Russians, such as actress Yana Poplavskaya, singer Yuri Loza, and others. At the same time, Putin’s favorite singer, Yaroslav Dronov, known as Shaman, refused to perform with West.

Katerina Mizulina, director of the Safe Internet League, also commented on Kanye West’s concert. “Adolf Hitler admirer and rapper Kanye West is coming to Russia for concerts. The main thing is that he doesn’t perform in a T-shirt with a swastika in Leningrad, which survived the blockade,” she said.

We previously reported that the controversial Kanye West was planning to perform in Russia.

American rapper Kanye West has stated that he rejects any accusations of Nazism and anti-Semitism.

As a reminder, Kanye West left X after posting his favorite porn videos.

Kanye West also apologized for his Nazi remarks.