Kanye West’s performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards has been cancelled due to his “concerning online behavior.” West had been posting speech targeted at Pete Davidson and his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian for their relationship.
Through a series of posts on his social media, West attacked Davidson and his relationship with West and Kardashian’s children. West also referred to The Daily Show host Trevor Noah as a slur on his Instagram after Noah addressed West’s treatment of his ex-wife on his show.
West, now known as Ye, was suspended from Instagram due to these posts, which the platform said violated their policies on hate speech, bullying and harassment. He also recently released a song and video, “Eazy,” in which he publicly spoke against Davidson.
In response to West’s speech, Noah wrote, “I’ll be honest with you — what I see from the situation is a woman who wants to live her life without being harassed by an ex-boyfriend or an ex-husband or an ex-anything.”
Noah will be hosting the 2022 Grammy Awards, and some at the Recording Academy are concerned about a potential interaction between Noah and West after these statements. However, in response to the Grammys’ decision, Noah took to social media to express his disagreement with the cancellation of West’s performance.
I said counsel Kanye not cancel Kanye.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 20, 2022
In another move, West also announced through a recently-deleted Instagram post that he has parted ways with friend Kid Cudi, who was originally featured on Donda 2. He stated that Cudi’s friendship with Davidson was the reason.
Still, West has been nominated for five total Grammys, including for the Album of the Year, Best Melodic Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album.
Any news regarding a replacement for Ye has yet to be announced. Alongside West, artists like Billie Eilish, BTS, Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow, Olivia Rodrigo and Brandi Carlile will be performing at the Grammys on April 3.
Photo Credit: Megan Clinard