Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Kanye West is barred from performing at Grammys due to ‘concerning online behaviour’

West recently hit out at Trevor Noah who will be hosting this year’s ceremony

Annabel Nugent
Monday 21 March 2022 04:59 GMT
Comments
Elon Musk shows up at Kanye West's Donda 2 listening party

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

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
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.

Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up
Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up

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.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in