For the few remaining people in America who still tune in to watch the annual Grammy Awards, they’ll notice a key figure in the music industry missing from the upcoming awards show.
According to People, the overlords who control the Grammys have apparently banned rapper Kanye West from performing at this year’s show. West’s rep confirmed the news to the outlet.
West, who has expressed support for former President Donald Trump in the past, was apparently blacklisted from the show over his “concerning online behavior,” The Blast reported.
The move is a major one for an already struggling awards show, as West commands a legion of millions of die-hard fans. Reportedly, a number of his colleagues in the music business have come out in support for him after he was essentially canceled from performing.
What happened?
While the exact details of what led to the banning of his highly-anticipated performance are sketchy, some believe the decision was related to a recent confrontation West had with radical progressive late-night host Trevor Noah.
Reportedly, West was suspended from Instagram recently after he responded to Noah’s comments on his separation from Kim Kardashian. West apparently used a racial slur in his response to Noah.
“Over time, Kanye has become more and more belligerent in how he tries to get Kim back,” Noah wrote. “I do understand that art can be therapy — I honestly do understand that. But I also understand that therapy can be therapy,” suggesting that West needed professional help.
Clearly, West wasn’t thrilled with Noah’s assessment of his personal life, and tore into him in a response, which ultimately resulted in West being locked out of his Instagram account for violating the company’s “hate speech, harassment, and bullying,” policy.
Whether that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for those in charge of the Grammys is still unclear, but it likely didn’t help.
Awkward
Making matters even more interesting is the fact that West was nominated for no less than five Grammys for this year’s show. One of those nominations was for “Album of the Year” as a producer for rapper Lil Nas X.
Many believe that West was ultimately blacklisted from performing based on his political views, which go against mainstream Hollywood.
“Kanye West is banned from performing at the 2022 Grammy Awards. The Academy has banned the rapper from taking the stage because he spoke out against a liberal News host. I guess if he spoke out against a conservative News host he would host the Grammys,” one Twitter user wrote.