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Friday, July 11, 2025
Slovakia festival starring Kanye West canceled amid backlash over ‘Heil Hitler’
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The Slovakia festival due to welcome Kanye West next week has called off the event following the uproar over the US rapper’s May release of a song glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Before the July 20 gig was canceled, Bratislava’s Rubicon hip hop festival was set to be West’s only confirmed live performance in Europe this year.
Though he has won 24 Grammy Awards over the course of his career, the erratic rapper has become notorious in recent years for his increasingly antisemitic and hate-filled rants.
West, who has legally changed his name to the shorthand “Ye,” released the song “Heil Hitler” on May 8, the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
In the wake of the announcement of West’s appearance at Rubicon, thousands of people signed a petition against the gig.
In a statement on Instagram, the festival’s organizers say the decision to cancel the event is “due to media pressure and the withdrawal of several artists and partners.”
“This was not an easy decision,” the organizers say, without drawing a direct line between the rapper’s planned appearance and the cancellations.
Contacted by AFP, the Rubicon festival doesn’t offer further explanations.
The Times of Israel Community.