Australia cancels rapper Ye’s visa over ’Heil Hitler’ release

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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Ye, the U.S. rapper formerly known as Kanye West, was recently stripped of an Australian visa after he released his single “Heil Hitler,” a government minister said on Wednesday.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed Ye has been traveling for years to Australia, where his wife of three years, Bianca Censori, was born. Her family live in Melbourne.

Burke said “Heil Hitler,” released in May, promoted Nazism. The song has been criticized as an antisemitic tribute to German dictator Adolf Hitler.

“He’s been coming to Australia for a long time. He’s got family here. And he’s made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again once he released the ‘Heil Hitler’ song and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia,” Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry,” Burke added.

Ye’s representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Australia’s Migration Act sets security and character requirements for non-citizens to enter the country.

Australia’s largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, have seen a spate of antisemitic attacks since the war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023.