Kanye West has been officially barred from entering Australia, the country's federal government confirmed this week.
The U.S. rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye, has had his visa revoked, despite having longstanding ties to the country through his wife, Melbourne-born Bianca Censori.
The decision was revealed by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke during an interview on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, ABC News detailed.
Burke was discussing recent visa cancellations when he referenced West’s case as an example of Australia taking a firm stance on individuals promoting hate.
“Most of the visas that have been cancelled under this section have been where someone was seeking to make a public speech,” Burke said. “The only one I can think of where it wasn’t for public advocacy – the visa – but we cancelled it anyway, would be Kanye West.”
The artist was reportedly planning a visit, as he has family in Australia and had spent time in the country previously.
However, Burke said West’s recent actions prompted officials to take a second look at his eligibility.
Ye’s visa was revoked following the release of his controversial track 'Heil Hitler', a song that sparked international backlash for referencing the Nazi dictator.
The independently released song has since been banned on major platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube, per The Guardian.
Burke explained that the decision came down to the core values Australia upholds.
“I think that what’s not sustainable is to import hatred,” he said. “Every visa application gets reassessed by my officials each time [...] even for the lowest level of visa, when my officials looked at it, they cancelled that following the announcement of that song.”
While Burke did not go into specifics of the lyrics, he noted that West had previously made “a lot of offensive comments” that contributed to the reassessment.
The Department of Home Affairs declined to comment on individual cases but reiterated in a statement that all non-citizens must meet character requirements under the Migration Act.
“The Australian government will continue to act decisively to protect the community from the risk of harm posed by individuals who choose to engage in criminal activity or behaviour of concern, including visa cancellation or refusal where appropriate,” a spokesperson said.