U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is taking a stand against hip hop provocateur Ye, formerly Kanye West, arguing that concerts scheduled for later this month at Raymond James Stadium need to be canceled.
Scott, who has been a vocal critic of antisemitic rhetoric, is calling on the Tampa Sports Authority Board of Directors not to “platform a hateful person pushing evil ideologies” using taxpayer money.
“Kanye West’s consistent antisemitic attacks are an affront to the values of the people of the Hillsborough community. He has openly praised Nazis, called himself one, and slandered Jews across the world. Kanye West also funded a Superbowl ad in 2025 that directed viewers to purchase merchandise featuring swastikas,” Scott wrote.
“West’s remarks are vile and a slap in the face to our state’s Jewish community. It is troubling that a stadium supported by taxpayer dollars would openly subsidize an event led by an artist known for pushing this dangerous, hateful rhetoric, especially with Florida having one of the largest Jewish populations in our country.”
Tickets for the concert at current pricing cost more than $300 per person all in and age restrictions to see the “Heil Hitler” rapper are nil. The stadium, while it charges for attendees over the age of 2, will admit infants and toddlers for free as long as they don’t take up a seat.
“West has been condemned by political figures across the political aisle. His outbursts and hate have helped to mainstream antisemitism. He was recently barred from performing in the United Kingdom due to offensive antisemitic remarks. I urge you to carefully review this decision, given the fact that taxpayer dollars are helping the show go on,” Scott added.
Separating Ye’s recent evolution from his historic oeuvre can be challenging for some. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made news this week by quoting a lyric from Ye’s “Graduation” album to describe the interminable conflict between Israel and Lebanon.
Yet for those concerned about a recent surge in antisemitism that has seemed to make it acceptable on both the Left and the Right, Ye’s commercial resurgence has proven problematic. Many stops on his current world tour have been preceded by efforts to stop the show from going on in court. Some, such as the most recent attempt to get an injunction against his performing in the Netherlands, have failed.
Ye has since publicly apologized for antisemitic content and comments, including asserting that he is a “Nazi” as recently as last year. But after years of incendiary rhetoric that didn’t just edge up to the line seen throughout the history of hip hop, but tore right through it, Scott and others are leery about giving the performer a stage in this state and allowing him to normalize hate, aided and abetted by taxpayer dollars.