Rapper Kanye West is no longer among the artists slated to perform at the 2022 Grammy Awards after being banned due to his recent social media activity.
First reported by The Blast, showrunners for the ceremony cited “concerning online behavior” as the basis for prohibiting the 44-year-old music artist, who goes by Ye, from this year’s April 3 awards, for which he has received five nominations.
The ban, confirmed to People by a representative of Ye, was due in part to the embattled rapper’s 24-hour suspension from Instagram on Wednesday for violating the app’s policies against hate speech, bullying and harassment.
According to NBC News, Ye on Tuesday uploaded a now-deleted Instagram post directing racial slurs toward Trevor Noah, who will be hosting the music awards show in its 64th year. Earlier on Tuesday, Noah had reportedly posted a clip from The Daily Show discussing the fallout from Ye and ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s high-profile divorce.
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During the segment from Tuesday’s show, Noah accused Ye of being increasingly “belligerent” in his public attempts to get Kardashian’s attention post-split, commenting: “What she’s going through is terrifying to watch and shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave,” per NBC News.
Per the outlet, Ye’s response included the racial slur “Koon baya” directed at Noah, who responded later by writing: “…the biggest trick racists ever played on black people was teaching us to strip each other of our blackness whenever we disagree.”
In recent months, Ye’s online posts have been increasingly centered around his divorce from Kardashian, 41, and her ensuing relationship with Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, including a music video in early March featuring a claymation depiction of the comedian being kidnapped and buried.
According to People, the since-deleted video was for Ye’s single, “Eazy,” featuring The Game, who came to Ye’s defense on Friday to criticize the Grammy ban and Instagram suspension. The Game said those actions represented an attack on Black cultural figures’ ability to “speak freely.”
Insinuating that the ban may be resulting from the social media suspension, or because Noah said something to show organizers, The Game wrote: “We’ll just say it’s all of the above & a continuous disrespect for us & all that we have brought to the table in entertainment, media & sports over the last 100 years especially.”
“Speak your mind in this country for yourself, family or your people & you’re ostracized immediately & if you push them hard enough they will stop at no ends to try and put an end to you as a whole,” he continued. “I for one, have never been scared to speak my mind even understanding what the consequences may be.”
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