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Kanye ‘Ye’ West is heading to São Paulo at the end of this month, where he could face immediate arrest.
According to Metropoles, the São Paulo State Public Prosecutor’s Office has reportedly ordered that the American rapper be arrested if he makes any pro-Nazi remarks, “makes any kind of apology for Nazism” while on stage, or performs his controversial song ‘Heil Hitler’ during the show, which is scheduled to take place on 29 November.
“No one who promotes Nazism will play or sing any words on public equipment belonging to the City Hall,” said São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes. “We will do everything necessary to ensure that no one who promotes Nazism has any kind of activity here in the city of São Paulo.”
The promoters for Ye’s show, Guilherme Cavalcante and Jean Fabrício Ramos, are also reportedly facing arrest if Ye steps out of line.
That’s if the concert goes ahead, as a venue has yet to be booked.
The show originally was scheduled to take place at Interlagos racetrack and that venue has already been pulled because of Ye’s long and documented antisemitic remarks.
Ye has previously been banned from X and Instagram over hate speech. He has previously identified as a Nazi and his antisemitic comments have been numerous over the years.
This year alone, he made a shocking string of antisemitic posts, which included comments like “I love Hitler” and “I’m a Nazi.” He also came under fire for selling a white t-shirt with a large swastika emblem on the chest – an item listed as “HH-01” on his website, a reference to the “Heil Hitler” chant.
Following the posting of a KKK photo, the rapper was dropped by his talent agency and subsequently blocked from entering Australia.
Ye has been trying to put all that behind him of late – when he’s not rescinding his apologies to the Jewish community.
He recently met with a prominent New York rabbi named Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, in order to “take accountability” for the hurt he has caused.
He expressed remorse and said that his bipolar disorder – a diagnosis he has previously refuted – caused him to lash out at the Jewish community.
“I was dealing with some various issues of bipolar, so it would take the ideas I had and have me take them to an extreme where I would forget about the protection of the people around me or myself,” said Ye.
The rabbi, through a translator, called Ye a “very good man” before sharing a statement online reading: “A person is not defined by his mistakes, but by the way he chooses to correct them. This is the true strength of man: The ability to return, to learn, and to build bridges of love and peace.”
The Independent highlighted that Pinto is a prominent figure among celebrities in Israel and has ties to Benjamin Netanyahu. The outlet also reported that he was convicted of bribery in Israel and served a year in prison in 2015.