The 2022 Grammy Awards will not be seeing Kanye West perform due to his ‘concerning online behaviour.’
A rep for the artist confirmed his absence. These Reps for the Recording Academy and CBS, which present the Grammys, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The report by The Blast claims that ‘Ye’ learned received a phone call about his ban from the lineup of performers at the 64th annual Grammy Awards. This news came shortly after West’s suspension from Instagram for 24 hours. The rapper used a racial slur against Trevor Noah, who recently made comments about West and his wife Kim Kardashian.
“Kanye has become more and more belligerent in how he tries to get Kim back,” he said on “The Daily Show” at the time. Noah is also hosting the Grammys on April 3. He expressed his opinion on West’s situation by tweeting, “I said counsel Kanye not cancel Kanye.”
Allowing West to perform on live networks is a risky proposition, due to his previous social media antics as well. He could use the stage to harass his wife’s boyfriend Pete Davidson. Maybe ‘Ye’ will attempt to lobby a public sentiment for custody of his children. He could also say something in support of accused sex offender Marilyn Manson, or Dababy, who made homophobic comments at the Rolling Stone Festival. West featured them both at his recent concerts. He could also make more misguided slavery comments.
The talented artist is a ticking time bomb, and his ability to make unnecessary comments live on stage is not unheard of. West during a televised Hurricane Katrina fundraiser said in 2005, ““George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.”
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Some artists including veteran rapper The Game, expressed their frustration over West’s exemption. The fellow rapper recently collaborated on the recent single and Davidson-trolling video, “Eazy.”
The song includes the lyrics, “God saved me from this crash / Just so I could beat Pete Davidson’s a**.” West is seen kidnapping and dismembering a figure that looked like Davidson in the music video.
The Game addressed the incident and voiced his opinion in a Instagram post on March 19. “Time & time again they show us that they only want to STEAL the culture, not allow you to ever be their equals,” The Game wrote in his caption.
“In a more than obvious move for reasons of minuscule actions…. The Grammys have at the last minute decided to pull (Kanye West) from performing on the show as if we didn’t know it was coming,” He continued.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. has said he argued successfully to lengthen the Album Of The Year Nominees.
The nominees list was expanded from eight to 10, beginning with the 2022 awards because hip-hop was not represented. This decision was motivated because of West’s album “Donda.” The album features 27 songs, with all the songs adding up to 108 minutes worth of music.
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The first round of Grammy performers were announced on Tuesday morning:
Nominees BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, Brandi Carlile, and Brothers Osborne.
The Grammy Awards take place live from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.