A growing backlash is mounting in Bratislava after the announcement that controversial rapper Kanye West - now legally known as Ye - is set to headline the Slovakian capital's upcoming Rubicon festival.
A petition urging the mayor to cancel his appearance describes the booking as “an insult to historic memory, a glorification of wartime violence and debasement of all victims of the Nazi regime”.
The Rubicon festival, which bills itself as a cultural event of “vision and provocation,” revealed plans for an exclusive mid-July performance by what it called a “hip-hop visionary, cultural icon, and controversial genius.”
However, more than 3,600 people have signed a petition - endorsed by groups including Peace for Ukraine and Cities for Democracy - demanding Ye’s removal from the lineup. It accuses the artist of “repeatedly and openly adhering to symbols and [an] ideology connected with the darkest period of modern global history”.
The 48-year-old rapper has remained in the headlines for a long string of increasingly controversial and provocative antics. These include accusations of controlling behaviour toward his wife, Bianca Censori; the sale of Swastika-emblazoned T-shirts on his now-taken down Yeezy retail site; and most recently, the release of a track titled Heil Hitler on 8 May - coinciding with the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat.
The online petition also warns that West’s appearance could attract “radical and extremist groups from Slovakia and abroad” and cited “legitimate concern about the appearance of Nazi symbolism, violent behaviour or the spread of ideology that is unacceptable in a democratic society and criminal in our country”.
Meanwhile, West - who recently made a brief appearance at the sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs - is expected to release a full version of his 12th album Bully, following the leak of several incomplete editions earlier this year.
