Marseille mayor condemns Kanye West concert over “unapologetic Nazism”
The Mayor of Marseille has opposed an upcoming Kanye West concert in the French city.
On March 4th, it was announced that Ye would be performing at the 70,000-capacity Stade Vélodrome, also known as Orange Vélodrome, on June 11th.
However, Mayor Benoît Payan voiced his opposition to the show in a post on X (formerly Twitter), pointing out the rapper’s history of antisemitism.
“I refuse to let Marseille become a showcase for those who promote hatred and unapologetic Nazism,” he wrote, according to the translation. “Kanye West is not welcome at the Vélodrome, our temple of living together and of all Marseillais.”
His running mate, Fabienne Bendayan, added, “Someone who openly proclaims his admiration for Hitler and espouses Nazi ideas cannot set foot on the stage of a city whose very soul is woven from diversity, remembrance and brotherhood.”
Ye apologised for his antisemitism in January by taking out a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal. He claimed that his erratic personality is the result of a brain injury caused by a car crash in the early days of his career.
“25 years ago, I was in a car accident that broke my jaw and caused injury to the right frontal lobe of my brain,” he said. “At the time, the focus was on the visible damage – the fracture, the swelling, and the immediate physical trauma. The deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed.”
Kanye returned to music this year, with upcoming concerts scheduled across the world in Mexico, India, and Italy.
He’s set to release his new album, Bully, on March 20th. It will serve as his first solo project since 2022’s Donda 2.