ISTANBUL, Turkey — A high-profile weekend performance by controversial American rapper Kanye West in Istanbul has ignited fierce backlash from senior Turkish officials, who are sounding the alarm over content they say deeply violates the country’s core spiritual and cultural values. Nearly 120,000 fans packed the venue for Saturday’s show, marking a rare stop for the artist who has already faced widespread performance bans across Europe over his well-documented hate speech targeting Jewish people and promotion of Nazi ideology.
Unlike European governments that have blocked West’s tour stops over his antisemitic and pro-Nazi rhetoric, Turkey’s objections center entirely on religious and cultural offense. In a public statement posted to the social platform X, Oktay Saral, chief advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned the concert for featuring messaging and imagery that directly contradicts Turkey’s Islamic faith and shared civilizational principles.
Saral specifically called out one controversial moment from the set: the crowd of tens of thousands enthusiastically chanting lyrics from West’s 2013 track “I Am a God.” He described the incident as a grave issue requiring immediate and thorough official review. Beyond the lyrical content, Saral also raised alarms over the participation of 82-year-old French designer Michele Lamy, whose signature gothic aesthetic, heavy tattooing, and dramatic dark eye makeup have led officials to frame her as linked to occultism and harmful dark symbolism.
Most concerning to Saral was the quiet participation of what he called a “conservative segment of society” in what he framed as a deliberate “cultural siege” against Turkish values. He called on Turkey’s tourism ministry to implement far stricter screening protocols for future large-scale events that could threaten the nation’s shared spiritual and cultural sensitivities.
West has been a deeply polarizing figure in global entertainment for years, after a series of public outbursts including repeated antisemitic rants and public comments glorifying Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler that sparked widespread industry and consumer backlash. The rapper has repeatedly cited his diagnosis of bipolar disorder as an explanation for his harmful remarks, claiming past incidents were triggered by manic episodes. Last January, he took out a full-page ad in *The Wall Street Journal* to issue a public denial, writing “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite” and adding “I love Jewish people.”
Despite that public clarification, the backlash against West’s tour has continued to build across Europe. His 2023 release of a track titled “Heil Hitler,” paired with swastika-branded merchandise sold on his official website, reinforced calls to cancel his planned 2024 European tour. In April, UK authorities barred him from entering the country to headline a major music festival, forcing organizers to scrap the entire set. Just one week later, a planned concert in Marseille, France, was postponed after reports that the country’s interior minister intended to block the performance. A Polish venue followed suit by canceling a June 19 show, with the nation’s culture minister stating Poland would not host an artist who promotes Nazism. Most recently, Italy blocked a planned July 18 concert on public safety grounds.
Despite the string of cancellations, West still has several upcoming European tour dates on the calendar, including shows in the Netherlands scheduled for June 6 and 8, a July 11 performance in Tirana, Albania, and a July 25 stop in Prague, Czech Republic.