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Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke confirmed on Tuesday that Australia had revoked American rapper Kanye West’s visa following the release of his song “Heil Hitler.”
“If someone argued that antisemitism was rational, I would not let them come here,” Burke told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). “West has been coming to Australia for a long time… and he’s made a lot of offensive comments. But my officials looked at it again once he released the ‘Heil Hitler’ song, and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia.”
The music video, released on May 8, features men in animal skins chanting the song’s title and has since been banned by major platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. Despite this, the track racked up millions of views within a day.
While it’s unclear whether West faces a permanent ban, Burke emphasized that visa applications would be evaluated case by case. “What’s not sustainable is to import hatred,” he said. “We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry.”
This isn’t the first time West has drawn criticism in Australia. In 2023, Education Minister Jason Clare condemned West’s “awful” remarks about Hitler and the Holocaust and hinted he could be denied entry
Following backlash, West released a revised version of the track — “Hallelujah” — replacing Nazi references with Christian themes and claiming he was “done with antisemitism.” Yet, earlier this year, West declared himself a Nazi and retracted an earlier apology for antisemitic comments.
In 2022, Adidas severed ties with West over his repeated antisemitic rhetoric. A settlement was reached late last year to officially end the legal relationship between the artist and the company.
