Kanye West Performs To 118,000 In Turkey Despite Bans Elsewhere

ISTANBUL, May 31 (Reuters) – U.S. rapper Kanye West, who has been barred from performing in several countries due to past antisemitic ​comments, drew more than 100,000 fans to a ‌concert in Istanbul on Saturday night.

West, also known as Ye, has faced a wave of cancellations across Europe this summer following years of antisemitic ​remarks, including statements praising Adolf Hitler and the ​release of content using Nazi imagery.

In his first appearance ⁠in Europe since 2014, and his first in Turkey, ​Ye performed for two hours in Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium ​to an audience of 118,000, state-run Anadolu Agency said.

Among the audience were fans from Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Poland and ​the Middle East, Anadolu said.

The 48-year-old rapper is set ​to perform in the Netherlands on June 6 and 8.

Ye has faced a global ‌backlash, ⁠not least for his release of “Heil Hitler”, a song promoting Nazism.

In April, Britain denied Ye entry on grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good, forcing the ​cancellation of ​a planned appearance ⁠at the Wireless Festival in London.

Later that month, he also postponed a show in Marseille after ​reports that the French government had sought ​to block ⁠it, and a concert in Poland was also subsequently cancelled.

In January, Ye took out a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street ⁠Journal ​renouncing his past admiration for Hitler ​and apologising for his behaviour, which he attributed to an undiagnosed brain injury and ​untreated bipolar disorder.