Thousands sign petition opposing Kanye West’s headline slot at Slovak music festival

Published on 24/06/2025 - 14:12 GMT+2

A increasing backlash is mounting successful Bratislava aft nan announcement that arguable rapper Kanye West - now legally known arsenic Ye - is group to header nan Slovakian capital's upcoming Rubicon festival.

A petition urging nan politician to cancel his quality describes nan booking arsenic “an reproach to historical memory, a glorification of wartime unit and debasement of each victims of nan Nazi regime”.

The Rubicon festival, which bills itself arsenic a taste arena of “vision and provocation,” revealed plans for an exclusive mid-July capacity by what it called a “hip-hop visionary, taste icon, and arguable genius.”

However, much than 3,600 group person signed a petition - endorsed by groups including Peace for Ukraine and Cities for Democracy - demanding Ye’s removal from nan lineup. It accuses nan creator of “repeatedly and openly adhering to symbols and [an] ideology connected pinch nan darkest play of modern world history”.

The 48-year-old rapper has remained successful nan headlines for a agelong drawstring of progressively controversial and provocative antics. These see accusations of controlling behaviour toward his wife, Bianca Censori; nan waste of Swastika-emblazoned T-shirts connected his now-taken down Yeezy unit site; and astir recently, nan merchandise of a way titled Heil Hitler connected 8 May - coinciding pinch nan 80th day of Nazi Germany’s defeat.

The online petition besides warns that West’s quality could pull “radical and extremist groups from Slovakia and abroad” and cited “legitimate interest astir nan quality of Nazi symbolism, convulsive behaviour aliases nan dispersed of ideology that is unacceptable successful a antiauthoritarian nine and criminal successful our country”.

Meanwhile, West - who precocious made a little quality astatine nan sex-trafficking proceedings of Sean “Diddy” Combs - is expected to merchandise a afloat type of his 12th medium Bully, pursuing nan leak of respective incomplete editions earlier this year.