Kanye West cleared to play in Netherlands despite past antisemitic remarks

The rapper Ye, also known as Kanye West, meets with Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto in a video posted online on November 6, 2025. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The rapper Ye, also known as Kanye West, meets with Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto in a video posted online on November 6, 2025. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

US rapper Kanye West, whose concerts have been banned in several European venues over antisemitic remarks, may perform in the Netherlands for two concerts in June, officials say.

The 48-year-old, also known as “Ye,” has sparked widespread anger over remarks glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and antisemitic rants, which he has blamed on having bipolar disorder.

He has since apologized on several occasions.

The mayor of the eastern city of Arnhem, Ahmed Marcouch, has granted a permit for the June concerts to go ahead despite what he described as “reprehensible statements made by the artist in the past.”

The majority of the Dutch House of Representatives had called for the rapper to be denied entry to the country. But Asylum and Migration Minister Bart van den Brink said there were no formal legal grounds to bar him from the Netherlands.

West is scheduled to play in Arnhem on June 6 and 8 — the latter date being the rapper’s birthday.

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