Kanye West has been removed from the list of performers at the 64th Grammy Awards due to “concerning online behaviour,” his rep has confirmed.
The rap star had not yet been announced as a performer on he show, which airs live from Las Vegas on April 3.
According to The Blast, West’s team was informed of the decision on Friday. “Insiders say the Awards show is ‘unfortunately’ taking this position ‘due to what they deem to be concerning online behaviour,’” the website reported. West's rep confirmed the story to Variety.
“As if we didn’t know it was coming,” rapper The Game wrote, in a message he shared on Instagram late Friday.
Earlier this week, West’s Instagram account was suspended for 24 hours after he used a racial slur in a post about comedian Trevor Noah. Instagram’s parent company Meta said West violated its policies on hate speech, bullying and harassment.
Noah, who is hosting the Grammys, tweeted Sunday: “I said counsel Kanye, not cancel Kanye."
West’s album Donda is up for four Grammys – Album of the Year, Rap Album of the Year, Best Rap Song (for “Jail”) and Best Melodic Rap Performance (“Hurricane”). He also has an Album of the Year nomination as one of the producers of Lil Nas X’s Montero.
This article has been updated since it was first published.