Two shows that Kanye West was due to play in Russia have been cancelled, the organiser has confirmed.
The US rapper, who has legally changed his name to the shorthand Ye, had been due to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 10 and 11 October.
In a post shared on the messaging app Telegram, organiser Say Agency said the shows would no longer be going ahead.
“Friends, it is with sincere regret that we inform you that the Ye concerts in Saint Petersburg on the scheduled dates will not be able to take place,” the Moscow-based agency wrote.
“In the near future, we will reach out to you with an official statement regarding the status of the project and future plans.”
The agency added that ticket refunds would be available from Monday, 12 October, with details “about the rules and conditions for refunds” to follow.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova previously called the planned shows unacceptable and pointed out West’s “glorification” of Hitler.
Last year, West started selling swastika T-shirts and released a song called Heil Hitler.
In January, he took out a full-page advert in The Wall Street Journal to apologise, titled: “To Those I’ve Hurt.”
He wrote: “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
The rapper added that his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month-long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life”.
In April, West’s show in Marseille, France, was postponed.
He had been denied a UK visa earlier that month, which led to the cancellation of his headline appearances at London’s Wireless Festival, following a backlash over his antisemitic remarks.
The following month, one of West’s concerts in Italy was cancelled over “public order and safety issues”.
He had been due to perform at the Pulse of Gaia Festival at the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia on 18 July, but the city’s prefect Salvatore Angieri stopped the gigs after “concerns” from the local Jewish community.
West’s first major concert in the US for more than five years was held in Los Angeles in April, and he has since played in countries including Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands.
Source: Press Association