Topline
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., pushed back against a pair of concerts rapper Kanye West is booked to perform in Tampa later this month, demanding no taxpayer dollars be used to fund the shows in a letter to city officials, as West’s return to the stage has sparked wide backlash and led to multiple cancellations abroad.
Kanye West’s return to the stage has been met with blowback worldwide. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
In a letter to Tampa’s Sports Authority Board of Directors, Scott said West’s “constant antisemitic attacks are an affront to the values” of Tampa residents and a “slap in the face to our state’s Jewish community.”
Scott urged the sports board to “carefully review” its decision to host West at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, also demanding the show not be funded with any taxpayer dollars.
Scott’s letter cited multiple examples of West’s past antisemitic behavior, including previous remarks praising Nazis and his purchase of a Super Bowl advertisement in 2025 that directed viewers to his website, which was selling T-shirts branded with swastikas.
Scott cited the United Kingdom’s decision to bar West from entering the country, which led to the cancellation of the three-day Wireless festival in London in April.
In a post on X earlier this month, Scott said West “doesn’t deserve a stage to spread his hate anywhere, especially Florida.”
Where Has Kanye West Been Blocked From Performing?
The rapper’s return to the stage has been obstructed by pushback and travel bans from some world leaders. In April, West’s bid to perform at London’s Wireless festival hit a major roadblock when sponsors pulled out over his history of antisemitic remarks, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying he was “deeply concerned” over the decision to book West. Shortly after the wave of backlash began, the U.K. government denied West’s visa application, saying his presence would not be “conducive to the public good,” and the Wireless festival was canceled. West then postponed a planned concert date in Marseille, France, after the city’s mayor Benoît Payan said he would refuse to allow the city to serve as “a showcase for those who promote hatred and unapologetic Nazism.” Other planned concerts have been cancelled by officials in Switzerland, Poland and Italy.
Where Has Kanye West Been Allowed To Perform?
West performed his first two major U.S. concerts in years at SoFi Stadium, located outside of Los Angeles, in California in April. There, West was greeted with sold-out crowds and brought out celebrity guests, including Lauryn Hill and Travis Scott. He performed for a massive audience of 118,000 fans in Istanbul last week, his first European show in more than a decade. Earlier this week, a Dutch court blocked an appeal by a Jewish organization to prevent West from holding a pair of shows in the Netherlands, which are scheduled for this coming weekend.
tangent
West’s antisemitic remarks have previously sparked blowback in Florida. In January, a Miami Beach nightclub faced backlash for playing West’s notorious antisemitic song, titled “Heil Hitler.” A slew of controversial influencers were at the club, including Andrew and Tristan Tate and Nick Fuentes. Miami Beach mayor Steven Meiner, who is Jewish, said he was “deeply disturbed and disgusted” by videos of the incident that spread on social media, condemning “twisted individuals glorifying Hitler and the murder of millions.”
key background
West’s career as an acclaimed rapper and billionaire businessman was derailed when he began making a series of antisemitic, racist and otherwise bizarre comments in 2022. He praised Adolf Hitler, wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt and claimed “Planned Parenthood was made… with the KKK to control the Jew population.” In another antisemitic tirade in 2025, West posted, “IM A NAZI” and said he is “NEVER APOLOGIZING FOR MY JEWISH COMMENTS.” In January, West took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to ask for “patience and understanding” following his antisemitism controversies, blaming his behavior on a traumatic brain injury from decades earlier. Once worth as much as $2 billion, West tumbled from billionaire status after Adidas, which sold his Yeezy shoes, cut ties with him over his antisemitic remarks.
further reading
Kanye West Performs For 118,000 In Turkey—Despite Cancellations Over Antisemitic Behavior (Forbes)
Wireless Festival Canceled After Kanye West Denied U.K. Entry (Forbes)