Australia cancels rapper Ye’s visa over ‘Heil Hitler’ song

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SYDNEY (Reuters) -Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has had his Australian visa cancelled after he released “Heil Hitler”, a song promoting Nazism, the country’s home affairs minister said on Wednesday.

The U.S. rapper released the song that praised the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler across social media and music streaming platforms in May.

The song came a few months after Ye made a string of antisemitic posts on X, which included comments such as “I love Hitler” and “I’m a Nazi”.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke 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 ABC 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. The singer married his wife Bianca Censori, an Australian architect, in December 2022.

Burke’s office declined to comment on the exact date of the visa cancellation. Ye’s management did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside U.S. business hours.

In October 2024, U.S. conservative influencer Candace Owens was also barred from entry into Australia. Burke said “Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else”.

(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Lisa Shumaker)