Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, has been barred from entering Australia, after its home affairs minister said letting the controversial musician into the country was akin to “deliberately importing bigotry.”
On Tuesday, Tony Burke, who heads the department tasked with carrying out the country’s immigration policy, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Ye was recently stripped of his visa following the release of his pro-Nazi song “Heil Hitler” in May.
Burke revealed the news while discussing the unrelated visa cancellation of Hillel Fuld, an Israeli-American pro-Israel activist and influencer, who was banned from visiting the country in June ahead of several speaking engagements over accusations of Islamophobia.
“If someone argued that antisemitism was rational, I would not let them come here,” Burke said, alluding to the rapper.
“He’s been coming to Australia for a long time. He’s been making — he’s got family here,” Burke said, referencing Ye’s wife of more than two years, Bianca Censori, who was born in the country. “And he’s made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again once he released the ’Heil Hitler’ song, and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia.”
“You know, some people say, ‘Don’t you believe in freedom of speech?’” Burke continued. “And for Australian citizens, yeah you’ve got full freedom of speech. But we have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry.” The rapper has a long history of making offensive comments against the Jewish community. Earlier this year, he went on an antisemitic tirade on X shortly before releasing a Super Bowl ad, which aired in several local markets across the country, that directed viewers to his website where they could purchase a T-shirt featuring a swastika. Burke said Australia had not permanently banned the rapper and noted that visa applications are often reassessed. Days earlier, the Trump administration revoked visas for members of the punk duo Bob Vylan after the band’s singer led “Free Palestine” and “Death to IDF” chants (referring to the Israel Defense Forces) at the Glastonbury Festival in England.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
Latest Post
Recommended
