Kanye West and Travis Scott's plans to perform in Italy this summer have reportedly hit a major roadblock.
According to local officials, concerts featuring the two rap superstars that were scheduled to take place in Reggio Emilia this July have been canceled following concerns raised by authorities and members of the area's Jewish community.
Prefect Salvatore Angieri, a government official responsible for public safety matters in the region, announced the decision. Officials reportedly met and cited security concerns and the large crowds expected to attend the events as key factors behind the cancellation.
“The meeting was dedicated to examining the public order and safety issues associated with the American artist’s [West] concert and the Travis Scott event, also scheduled at the RCF Arena," representatives of Reggio Emilia’s government said in a statement. “Based on the assessments made during the committee meeting and further investigations into safety and security aspects, the prefect … [ordered] the prohibition of both concerts."
The controversy surrounding West's past antisemitic remarks also reportedly played a role in the decision-making process. Italian authorities acknowledged that previous actions taken against the rapper in other countries were considered in their evaluation. Earlier this year, West faced restrictions in the United Kingdom, where he was barred from entering the country following widespread backlash over his comments.
“The overall assessment also took into account the cancellation of previous concerts by the American rapper in other countries and the real risk of counter-demonstrations," reps for Reggio Emilia added in their statement.
West had been scheduled to headline the Pulse of Gaia festival on July 18. Scott was set to perform the day before at the the same festival, which until recently was known as the Hellwatt Festival, but just changed names.
The latest setback adds to a growing list of international performance issues for West. Several planned appearances involving the rapper have reportedly been scrapped in recent months as promoters and officials continue to weigh public reaction to his past statements.
Scrutiny over Scott's own concert history has followed him into this tour cycle as well. A crowd crush at his Astroworld festival in Houston in 2021 killed 10 people, ranging in age from nine to 27, and injured thousands more.
The cancellations come despite West's recent efforts to repair relationships with the Jewish community. Earlier this year, he publicly apologized for previous comments and has since met with Jewish leaders and visited cultural organizations.
Neither West nor Scott has publicly commented on the cancellation, and neither date now appears on the festival’s website.
