Kanye West has reportedly been barred from performing at the Grammy Awards due to his “concerning online behaviour”.
The rapper – who is up for five awards this year – had not been confirmed as a performer at the forthcoming ceremony, which will take place on 4 April.
A representative of West confirmed reports from The Blast that he was scrapped from the awards show due to his “concerning online behaviour”, according to Variety.
The report in The Blast posted on Friday night (18 March) claimed that West’s team had received a phone call informing them that he had been “unfortunately” removed from the lineup of performers.
West’s representative sent Variety a link to the story, adding only: “This is confirmed.” They did not respond to requests for further information.
The report claimed that the decision was made in part due to West’s recent outburst against Trevor Noah, who will be hosting next month’s ceremony. Noah is also the writing partner of Kim Kardashian’s boyfriend Pete Davidson.
West used a racial slur against Noah in an Instagram post after the Daily Show host said that the situation between the rapper, his ex-wife and Davidson was “terrifying to watch”.
The musician had his account suspended, with Instagram’s parent company Meta confirming to The Independent that it had deleted content from West’s account and temporarily restricted the account from posting, commenting and sending direct messages.
Trevor Noah and Kanye West
(Getty Images)
The Blast reported that the choice to scrap West as a performer at the Grammys was partially because of concerns over possible interactions between West and Noah.
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Noah has since addressed West’s use of the racial slur against him.
Kardashian filed for divorce from West in February 2021, citing irreconcilable differences. She was declared legally single on 2 March.
West has made several public appeals to Kardashian to reunite their family; the couple share four children – North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm – together.
He has also repeatedly used Instagram to post outbursts against Davidson, who began dating Kardashian in October last year.
After one of his social media rants against the Saturday Night Live comedian, Kardashian told West that he was creating a “dangerous and scary environment” for Davidson.
The Independent has contacted a representative of the Grammys and West for comment.
The first round of Grammy performers were announced earlier this week. Nominees BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Brandi Carlile, Brothers Osborne, Billie Eilish, and Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow all set to perform on the night.