Kanye West's Reps Confirmed That His Grammys Performance Has Been Pulled, In Part Due To Concerns Over His Interactions With Host Trevor Noah
The decision cites West's "concerning online behavior.”
Kanye West will no longer be performing at the 2022 Grammy Awards.
West is nominated for five Grammy Awards this year, including Album of the Year.
For context, earlier this week, Daily Show host Trevor Noah discussed West's online treatment of ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend Pete Davidson.
Unpacking the Kim-Kanye-Pete situation and the harassment many women face when trying to leave a relationship.
“I see a woman who wants to live her life without being harassed by an ex-boyfriend or an ex-husband or an ex-anything," Noah said in the clip. "If Kim Kardashian cannot escape this, then what chance do normal women have?”
Following the release of the episode, West posted a screenshot of a Google search for Noah, along with a racist slur, on his Instagram. West's Instagram account was subsequently temporarily suspended for violating the platform's policies on hate speech, bullying, and harassment.
Then, according to a report from the Blast yesterday, West's team received a call telling them that his Grammys performance had been pulled “due to what they deem to be concerning online behavior.”
The Blast was also told by sources that the decision was made, in part, because Noah will be hosting the awards — leading to some concern over how the two would interact.
Subsequently, one of West's reps sent a link to the story to Variety with the comment, “This is confirmed." Reps for the Recording Academy and CBS did not respond.
The news was met with criticism from rapper the Game, who collaborated with West on the controversial music video for "Eazy" — where a claymation figure of West can be seen kidnapping and decapitating Davidson. "Time & time again they show us that they only want to STEAL the culture, not allow you to ever be their equals. In a more than obvious move for reasons of minuscule actions.... The Grammys have at the last minute decided to pull @kanyewest from performing on the show as if we didn’t know it was coming," he wrote on Instagram.
However, West's Grammy nominations were met with controversy from the get-go — because that means nominations for his Donda collaborators, who include Marilyn Manson, Chris Brown, Travis Scott, and DaBaby.
Manson has been accused of abuse by more than a dozen women. Brown has a history of violence against women, including pleading guilty to felony assault after punching and choking Rihanna in 2009. Scott is being sued for billions of dollars after 10 people died and hundreds were injured at his Astroworld festival. DaBaby has faced backlash for his anti-gay comments about HIV/AIDS.
The Recording Academy’s CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., seemingly defended the nominations. Speaking to the Wrap about Manson’s nomination, he said, “We won’t restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration.”
