Rapper Kanye West, aka Ye, has had his Australian visa cancelled after he released ‘Heil Hitler’, a song promoting Nazism, the country’s home affairs minister said on Wednesday.
For the unversed, American rapper Kanye West, who now goes by the name Ye, released the song ‘Heil Hitler’, praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, across social media and music streaming platforms earlier this year.
The song followed Ye’s string of antisemitic posts on X, which included comments like, ‘I love Hitler’ and ‘I’m a Nazi’.
Tony Burke, Minister of Home Affairs of Australia, said that while previous offensive comments made by Ye had not affected his visa status, officials reviewed it again after the song’s release.
“It was a lower level (visa) and the officials still looked at the law and said you’re going to have a song and promote that sort of Nazism, we don’t need that in Australia,” he told national broadcaster on Wednesday. “We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry.”
Burke added that Ye had family in Australia and had been a longtime visitor prior to the visa cancellation.
Moreover, the singer is also married to Australian architect Bianca Censori since December 2022.
Burke’s office declined to comment on the exact date of the visa cancellation.
Meanwhile, Ye’s management also did not respond to a request for comment.
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