Kanye West has postponed indefinitely an upcoming concert in Marseille amid growing pressure from the French authorities to call off the event.
West, who goes by the name Ye, was due to perform at Marseille Velodrome on June 11.
The artist – who, despite issuing subsequent apologies, has become notorious for numerous incidents of antisemitic behaviour and remarks – posted on X: “After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice.”
Earlier this week, Politico reported that France’s interior minister Laurent Nunez was “very determined” to prevent the show from going ahead, and last month the mayor of Marseille, Benoit Payan, declared he would not let the city “be a showcase for those who promote hatred and unapologetic Nazism”.
In October 2022, in a post on X West said he was going to go “death con 3 on Jewish people [sic]” and he later denied the Holocaust on a far-right talk show.
Last spring, West released the track Heil Hitler, which contained an extract of a speech from the Nazi leader. This followed the sale on his website of T-shirts featuring a swastika.
His outbursts led to him being dropped by commercial partners, most notably Adidas. He has issued multiple apologies over the years before going on to make further explicitly antisemitic comments.
In January, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise for his behaviour.
The advert, which took the form of a letter to “those I have hurt”, attributed his actions to a bipolar disorder, resulting from an injury in a car accident that had only been diagnosed many years later.
In early 2025, he fell into “a four-month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life,” he said.
In that “fractured state”, he explained, “I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it…
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
The postponement of his Marseille gig comes a week after the organisers of the Wireless Festival, which was due to take place in in north London’s Finsbury Park in July, called off the entire event following a major backlash over the rapper headlining that led to sponsors dropping out.
Jewish leaders and MPs from across the political spectrum had condemned his planned visit to the UK, which would have been his first since 2015, and West had offered to meet with the Jewish community to “listen” to their concerns prior to the show.
However, the Home Office announced it had denied West permission to enter the UK on the basis that his presence would not have been conducive to the public good.
Calls have also been made in the Netherlands to prevent West from performing at GelreDome stadium in the city of Anhem on June 6 and 8.
Tijs van den Brink, a lawmaker for the Christian Democratic Appeal, a centrist party and member of the governing coalition, told Dutch chat show PowNews: “I think it would be better if he is kept away,” adding: “Right now, antisemitism is rising in the Netherlands, and it’s very inhospitable for Jews at times. So we need to do our best to keep such people out for now.”
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