Kanye West Performs at Italy Festival Despite European Visa Blocks

The Italian government is facing calls from trade unions and politicians to cancel Kanye West’s appearance at the Hellwatt Festival in Reggio Emilia on July 18. France blocked Kanye West’s performance in Marseille, while Poland also blocked a planned show by the rapper.

The United Kingdom denied a visa to Kanye West, according to Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament and a senior member of Italy’s Democratic Party.

Picierno also stated that France effectively prevented the Marseille concert. “It seems quite contradictory that an artist known for his antisemitic remarks can be hosted by our city, which has always strongly advocated anti-fascist values,” said Rosamaria Papaleo, a representative of the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Unions in Emilia-Romagna.

The union does not wish to disrupt the Hellwatt Festival, Papaleo added.

Instead, the union has asked Reggio Emilia’s mayor, Marco Massari, to require Kanye West to meet with members of the area’s Jewish population as a symbolic act of reconciliation. Marco Massari, the mayor of Reggio Emilia, distances himself from Kanye West’s behavior and remarks, but noted that the decision to allow the rapper into the country rests with the national government.

In January, Kanye West took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal apologizing for years of offensive outbursts.

West claimed that neurological damage caused by a near-fatal 2002 car crash was responsible for his concerning behavior in recent years. Kanye West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016. After Italy, Kanye West’s European tour has four stops scheduled: Turkey, the Netherlands, Madrid, and Portugal.

The Independent reported these developments, including the opposition from unions and politicians amid backlash over West's past antisemitic remarks.