Rapper Kanye West’s July 4 show at risk of cancellation over past hate speech

A Texas mayor is calling for the cancellation of Kanye West’s show in her city due to antisemitic comments he has made in the past.

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has called for a July 4 concert featuring the rapper to be cancelled in a social media post.

“I support canceling the @kanyewest concert,” Jones, 45, wrote Saturday on X. “Military City USA should not host someone with a record of hate speech and antisemitic comments in a city-funded facility like our Alamodome—not ever, and certainly not on July 4th, our Nation’s 250th birthday.”

She added, “Standing up to antisemitism is exactly what it takes to achieve a more perfect Union.”

The controversial artist’s scheduled performance at the Alamodome is just the latest instance of his recent tour sparking backlash due to West’s history of antisemitism, which has included releasing a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website.

During the European leg of the tour, the U.K. government banned West from entering the country because of his comments, which led to the three-day Wireless Festival in London being cancelled. The rapper’s visa was revoked in April because the government said his presence would “not be conducive to the public good.”

Swiss football club FC Basel cancelled West’s show scheduled in June, saying: “However, after thorough review, we have decided not to proceed with the project, as we cannot, in accordance with our values, provide a platform for the artist in question within this context.”

West was also set to perform in Chorzów, which would have marked his first performance in Poland in 15 years, but the venue announced in April that it would not go ahead “due to formal and legal reasons.”