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San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has asked for rapper Ye's July 4 concert at the Alamodome to be canceled. She said the publicly funded venue should not host someone with a record of hate speech and antisemitic statements.
'Military City USA should not host someone with a record of hate speech and antisemitic comments in a city-funded facility like our Alamodome, not ever, and certainly not on July 4th, our Nation's 250th birthday,' Jones wrote on social media.
Even after the mayor's request, tickets for the show are still available on Ticketmaster and Ye's official website. The concert is still scheduled.
Jones' request is part of a wider trend of opposition to Ye's world tour. In recent months, several European countries have blocked or canceled his shows, with venues, governments, and festival organizers pointing to his antisemitic behavior.
In April, the United Kingdom's Home Office banned Ye from entering the country, leading to the cancellation of his headline slot at the Wireless Festival in London's Finsbury Park.
In Poland, organizers canceled a planned June concert, citing "formal and legal reasons." The country's culture minister commented, 'In a country scarred by the history of the Holocaust, we cannot pretend that this is just entertainment. Artistic freedom does not mean giving a free pass to everything. Culture cannot be a space for those who exploit it to spread hatred.'
Earlier this month, a concert in Prague was canceled after the venue pulled out. A French festival was also postponed when local officials said they would block Ye from performing. Marseille's mayor, Benoit Payan, said he would not let the city become "a showcase for those who promote hatred and unashamed Nazism."
Sources close to France's interior minister told AFP he was looking at all possible ways to stop the show.
Last year, Ye was not granted a visa to enter Australia.
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The backlash began after a long period of public antisemitic behavior. Ye later said he was experiencing a mental health crisis during this time. He sold T-shirts with swastikas, made repeated antisemitic statements online, and called himself a Nazi.
In January, Ye published a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to respond to the backlash. He called that time a "four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life" and said he was drawn "toward the most destructive symbol I could find."
He said he is 'not a Nazi or an antisemite' and expressed regret for what he did.
Even after his public statement, people continue to oppose his performances.
San Antonio is not the only U.S. city where Ye's upcoming shows are under review.
He is set to perform at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on June 26 and 28. Florida Senator Rick Scott has asked the Tampa Sports Authority Board of Directors to cancel those concerts.
Scott said the arena is publicly owned and that Ye's consistent antisemitic attacks are an affront to the values of the people of the Hillsborough Community.' As of now, both Tampa concerts are still scheduled.
This year, Ye has performed in several countries, including Türkiye, the Netherlands, and Georgia. He also played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, in April.
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