American rapper Kanye West has been barred from entering Australia after releasing a song that glorifies Adolf Hitler, prompting widespread outrage and condemnation from officials and the public alike.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, confirmed that West’s visa had been cancelled following the release of the controversial track Heil Hitler in early May. The song, which forms part of West’s new album WW3, has been banned across major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
“West has been coming to Australia for a long time… and he’s made a lot of offensive comments,” Mr Burke told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). “But my officials looked at it again once he released the *Heil Hitler* song, and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia.”
The visa cancellation emerged during a broader discussion on ABC about the refusal of visas to individuals making Islamophobic statements. “If someone argued that anti-Semitism was rational, I would not let them come here,” Mr Burke said, citing West’s case as an example of Australia’s hardline stance on hate speech.
While the minister did not clarify whether the ban is permanent, he emphasised that all visa applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis. “I think that what’s not sustainable is to import hatred,” he added. “We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry.”
West, who now goes by Ye, has long courted controversy over his anti-Semitic rhetoric. Earlier this year, he openly identified as a Nazi and withdrew a previous apology for past remarks. His wife, Australian designer Bianca Censori, has also drawn media attention in recent months.
This is not the first time Australian authorities have considered blocking the rapper. In 2023, Education Minister Jason Clare condemned West’s “awful” comments about Hitler and the Holocaust, warning that he could be denied entry.
Despite the backlash, *Heil Hitler* amassed millions of views within a day of its release in May. The music video features a group of men dressed in animal skins chanting the song’s title—imagery that drew intense criticism from Jewish organisations and civil society groups.
Following the uproar, West claimed he was “done with anti-Semitism” and released a revised version of the song titled *Hallelujah*, which replaced references to Nazism with Christian-themed lyrics.
The rapper’s long-standing controversies have also taken a toll on his business relationships. In 2022, Adidas terminated its partnership with West over his anti-Semitic comments. A year later, the company announced it had reached a settlement with the artist, ending all legal proceedings between them.
Boluwatife Enome
Follow us on:
