Kanye West is prevented from entering Australia after releasing music with Nazi reference

Rapper Kanye West has a barred entrance in Australia after the release of the controversial song “Heil Hitler”, which was taken from platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and Youtube for directly referred to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

The veto was confirmed by Australian Internal Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who said the country “will not import hatred deliberately.” The information is from BBC.

In an interview with public broadcaster ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Burke confirmed that the government revised West’s situation as soon as the song was released. “My employees reevaluated the case after the launch of this track. He no longer has a valid visa to enter Australia,” said the minister. “If someone tries to justify anti -Semitism as rational, I will not allow this person to come here.”

The final stretch of the song “Heil Hitler” includes an excerpt from a speech given by Hitler, which generated indignation from authorities, Jewish groups and thousands of listeners around the world. Although the rapper had already visited Australia previously – specially because of his relationship with Australian designer Bianca Censori – this new musical onslaught seems to have crossed a definitive line for the local government.

Although Burke has not specified if the ban will be permanent, he reinforced the severity of the content. “What is not sustainable is to allow intolerance discourses to be imported. We already have our own problems. We don’t have to import this kind of offensive speech,” he said.

The negative repercussion around Kanye West’s new track is not restricted to Australia. More than 5,000 people have signed a petition asking the rapper to be prevented from performing at the Rubicon Festival, which will take place in July, in the city of Bratislava, Slovakia.

The document classifies the artist’s presence as an affront to the memory of the Holocaust victims, as well as a glorification of authoritarian regimes.

Organizations such as Peace For Ukraine and Cities for Democracy also endorsed the campaign, which calls for the exclusion of West from the official program of the event. According to the organizers of the petition, the presence of the rapper would be “an insult to historical memory, an apology for violence in war times and a degradation of all victims of Nazism.”

Kanye West already accumulates several public controversies for their positions. So far, he has not commented on the decision of the Australian government.