After Sen. Rick Scott’s petition to bar rising rap star Kanye “Ye” West from performing Friday and Sunday at a publicly funded Tampa arena over the rapper’s past anti-Semitic statements and songs failed, two protest cars will circle the venue as fans of the controversial rapper will join his show.
On June 3, Scott launched a Change.org petition calling on the Tampa Sports Authority to cancel West’s late-June concerts at the city’s Raymond James Stadium. Scott cited West’s controversial and anti-Semitic statements and other actions in the letter he wrote to the stadium’s governing body. He wrote that Florida politicians should do everything they can to ensure that public funds and resources are not used to perform West.
“Kanye West is an admitted and prolific anti-Semite who has slandered Jews, praised Adolf Hitler, described himself as a Nazi, and sold swastika merchandise on his website — among his many other anti-Semitic statements and actions,” Scott said. “Florida — especially the Tampa Bay area — has a large Jewish population,” Scott said. “Forcing them to support these concerts with their tax dollars is a complete slap in the face to Jews in Florida and throughout the country and the world.”
Beginning in 2022, anti-Semitic and misogynistic language has surfaced from the star rapper and producer several times, most notably on X, where last year he wrote messages like, “I love Hitler now what a bitch,” “I’m a Nazi” and “Hitler was so new.” He also began selling T-shirts with swastikas on the front through his company’s website.
Then, in January, West placed a full-page ad The Wall Street Journal He retracted a number of statements he made on social media over the past few years. In a guilty plea, the mercurial rap mogul attributed his past behavior to a brain injury, while declaring: “I love the Jewish people.”
Many were skeptical of this shift. Most said they were happy to see that he seemed to be on the right track. But not everyone – and as he recorded his return, Bullywas released with only a few concert dates planned, the rapper learned that the UK had refused to grant him a visa, and a three-night stand headlining the massive Wireless Festival had to be cancelled. A planned concert in a Polish arena was the next domino that would fall in love with the rapper.
Scott’s petition garnered more than 11,000 signatures in three weeks and was joined by Sen. Ashley Moody, chair of the Justice Department’s anti-Semitism task force. Holocaust survivor Tony Rende; Jewish community leaders; And many national and international officials in their condemnation and appeal to the stadium’s senior officials. But no number of citizens the senator found agreeing with his case would be enough to shut down West’s shows — or most anyone’s shows, for that matter, because the Tampa Sports Authority issued a statement in response to Scott’s pleas that it couldn’t shut down the show because management runs the venue under free speech laws.
“We recognize the concerns and views expressed regarding the upcoming events at Raymond James Stadium,” the statement read. “As a public agency, we follow the principles of free expression in running our venue, although we do not condone offensive and divisive statements or actions by any artists.”
Local news station Bay News 9 reported that a legal expert who reviewed the agreement between the rapper and the stadium said the terms protect concerts from being canceled due to any prior statements. The rapper apparently requested this unusual inclusion in the contract, and only major situations can trigger the cancellation, for example, if the federal government raises the national terrorist threat assessment to Level 5, or if there is a significant public health threat.
Scott and supporters of his anti-West agenda appear to have taken the free speech message to heart, because on Friday at 4pm local time, mobile billboards will circle Raymond James Stadium in protest of West’s first two shows scheduled for this weekend. The trucks will direct people to Scott’s Change.org petition asking taxpayer-funded venues to refuse to book Ye because of his anti-Semitic public rhetoric.
After the petition failed, the Florida Holocaust Museum will offer free admission Friday through Sunday while West is in town to perform.
Hollywood Reporter She reached out to a representative for West and Sen. Scott’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response Friday.
