Kanye banned from performing at Grammys

Kanye West has been barred from performing at the Grammy Awards, a spokesperson for the artist confirmed to Variety. Representatives for the Recording Academy and CBS, which present the Grammys, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The rapper’s team allegedly received a phone call Friday night informing them that Kanye had been “unfortunately” removed from the lineup of performers for the show due to his “concerning online behavior.” While Kanye was not among the first list of performers announced on Tuesday, he may have been a planned performer.

Based on his social media posts and activity in the past few months alone, Kanye might use the stage to continue his online harassment of Pete Davidson, his estranged wife Kim Kardashian’s new boyfriend; he could attempt to lobby public sentiment for custody of his children; he could make some statement in support of accused sex offender Marilyn Manson or unrepentant homophobe DaBaby, both of whom he has featured at his recent concerts or listening events; he could make more misguided statements about slavery or revive his stumping for former President Trump.

Moreover, the decision to ban Kanye’s Grammys performance was made partially because of concerns over possible interactions between him and show host Trevor Noah. Earlier, Kanye used a slur against Trevor in an Instagram post regarding comments the Daily Show host made about his split with Kim, resulting in a 24-hour ban from the platform.

In response, Trevor wrote, “I’ll be honest with you — what I see from the situation is a woman who wants to live her life without being harassed by an ex-boyfriend or an ex-husband or an ex-anything.” Kanye’s public appearances are rarely without controversy, often negative, and there’s no reason to expect that a performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards would be any exception.