By Chandni Shah
April 15 (Reuters) – U.S. rapper Kanye West said he was postponing his show in Marseille, France, in a fresh disruption to a tour that has drawn opposition from critics over his previous celebration of Nazism.
The 48-year-old rapper, now known as Ye, wrote on X on Tuesday that he had made the decision “after much thought and consideration.” Ye had been scheduled to perform on June 11 at the Orange Velodrome in Marseille.
“I know it takes time to understand the sincerity of my commitment to make amends,” the rapper posted. “I take full responsibility for what’s mine but I don’t want to put my fans in the middle of it.”
Media reports said French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez had been seeking to block Ye from performing. Marseille’s mayor, Benoit Payan, said in March that Ye was not welcome to perform in the city.
Ye’s representatives and record label did not respond to emailed requests for comment outside U.S. business hours.
Ye was barred from Australia last July after releasing “Heil Hitler”, a song promoting Nazism. He also advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website.
In January, Ye took out a full‑page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal to apologise for his behaviour, which he attributed to an undiagnosed brain injury and untreated bipolar disorder, and renounced past expressions of admiration for Adolf Hitler.
Earlier this month, Britain refused permission for Ye to enter the country over his past antisemitic comments after he was booked to headline London’s Wireless Festival in July. The festival was then cancelled.
The rapper has performed in the U.S. and Mexico City this year, and on Wednesday a new date appeared in his calendar showing he would play in the western Polish city of Chorzow on June 19. Other European and Asian shows are planned this summer.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Toby Chopra)
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