{"id":297336,"date":"2026-06-05T16:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/297336\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:00:09","slug":"florida-senator-urges-stadium-to-cancel-kanye-west-concerts-over-consistent-antisemitic-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/297336\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Senator Urges Stadium to Cancel Kanye West Concerts Over \u2018Consistent Antisemitic Attacks\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida senator Rick Scott is urging the Tampa Sports Authority to cancel Kanye West\u2019s upcoming headlining concerts at Raymond James Stadium. In a letter to the venue operator, published in full on his official website,<\/a> Scott argued it would be a \u201cslap in the face\u201d to allow the musician\u2019s performances to be funded by taxpayers given West\u2019s history of \u201cconstant antisemitic attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d Scott wrote in the letter.<\/p>\n

More from Rolling Stone<\/p>\n

The senator points specifically to instances in which West \u201copenly praised Nazis, called himself one, and slandered Jews across the world,\u201d as well as a 2025 Super Bowl ad that directed viewers to a website selling a white T-shirt emblazoned with with a black swastika. \u201cWest\u2019s remarks are vile and a slap in the face to our state\u2019s Jewish community,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

Scott also cited recent backlash to West\u2019s returning to the stage as a reason for why Raymond James Stadium should not host him for his June 26 and June 29 performances. \u201cWest has been condemned by political figures across the political aisle. His outbursts and hate have helped to mainstream antisemitism,\u201d Scott said. \u201cHe was recently barred from performing in the United Kingdom due to offensive antisemitic remarks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In April, Wireless Festival, the music festival set to take place in London\u2019s Finsbury Park neighborhood, canceled this year\u2019s event<\/a> \u2014 which was to be headlined by West \u2014 after the country denied his visa. Shortly after, the rapper\u2019s planned concert in Poland was also canceled<\/a> in connection to his antisemitic comments and praising of Nazism.<\/p>\n

In January, West published a full-page Wall Street Journal advertisement<\/a> apologizing for years of antisemitic and other controversial comments. The rapper linked his outbursts to a long history of mental health struggles that left him in a \u201cfractured state,\u201d during which \u201cI gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it,\u201d he said. \u201cI regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The apology has not allowed West to move forward with a clean slate. \u201cI am confident that the Tampa Sports Authority will continue fostering a safe and inclusive community, especially for Jewish Floridians,\u201d Scott wrote. \u201cNo taxpayer dollars should be used to give a vocal antisemite a stage in Florida, and I am sure that you will take appropriate action to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the show may still go on. According to WFLA, the Tampa Sports Authority issued the following statement in response to Scott\u2019s pleas: \u201cWe recognize the concerns and viewpoints being expressed about the upcoming events at Raymond James Stadium. As a public agency, we follow the principles of free speech in operating our venue, although we do not condone remarks or actions from any artists that are offensive and divisive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best of Rolling Stone<\/p>\n

Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida senator Rick Scott is urging the Tampa Sports Authority to cancel Kanye West\u2019s upcoming headlining concerts at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,63134,11708,3856,107092],"class_list":["post-297336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-kanye-west","tag-raymond-james-stadium","tag-rick-scott","tag-sports-authority"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}