Recommendations of the Editorial team
The mayor of San Antonio has the Cancellation demanded by Kanye West’s concert at the city’s Alamodome, scheduled for July 4th.
Weeks after Florida Senator Rick Scott called on the Tampa Sports Authority to cancel West’s upcoming concerts at Raymond James Stadium, San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones also spoke out against the rapper’s appearance in the Texas city.
“I support the cancellation of the @kanyewest concert,” Jones wrote on social media. “Military City USA should never allow someone with a history of hate speech and anti-Semitic statements to appear at a city-funded facility like our Alamodome – especially not on July 4th, our nation’s 250th birthday.”
Rejections due to anti-Semitism
The rapper’s current tour has been plagued by cancellations stemming from West’s anti-Semitic past. In April, the Wireless Festival, which was set to take place in London’s Finsbury Park and featured West as the headliner, canceled this year’s event – after Britain denied him a visa. Shortly afterwards, his planned concert in Poland was canceled, also in connection with his anti-Semitic statements and his glorification of National Socialism.
In January, West published a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal apologizing for years of anti-Semitic and other controversial statements. The rapper attributed his gaffes to a long history of mental health issues that left him in a “broken state” where he “turned to the most destructive symbol I could find – the swastika – and even sold T-shirts with it on it,” he explained. “I deeply regret and am ashamed of my actions in this state. I commit to responsibility, treatment and real change. However, that does not justify what I did. I am not a Nazi and not an anti-Semite. I love Jewish people.”
Despite his apology, West continues to face resistance to planning his world tour – but this year he still managed to perform in places like Turkey, the Netherlands and Georgia, as well as SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Concerts confirmed for now
Despite the objections of Scott and Ortiz Jones, West’s appearances in Tampa Bay on June 26 and 28 and in San Antonio on July 4 remain on the schedule. “Confronting anti-Semitism is exactly what it takes to achieve a more perfect union,” Ortiz Jones added.
