Kanye West’s plan to bring his stadium tour to Australia is facing another roadblock as questions mount if the rapper can even obtain a visa to enter the country.
The artist, who has 22 Grammys to his name, is said to be planning to bring his Donda tour down under, in a move that could prove lucrative to the hard hit entertainment industry.
But the star’s outspoken anti-vaccination views, in addition to his unknown vaccination status, could mean his visa is denied under the same rules used to deport Novak Djokovic.
The world No. 1 was deported from Australia in dramatic circumstances on the eve of the Australian Open, after Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used his discretionary powers to deny him a visa.
In a statement to Mr Djokovic’s lawyers, the minister cited the unvacated tennis star’s presence in Australia could excite anti-vaccination sentiment.
While lawyers for Mr Djokovic argued his recent Covid-19 infection was the reason he was not vaccinated, Mr Hawke said his anti-vaccination views were enough to refuse his visa.
Asked if Mr West could be headed for the same fate, Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said the rules applied to everyone.
“He needs to apply in accordance to the rules as they exist for everyone,” Mr Tehan told reporters on Saturday.
Under Australia’s current border rules, a foreign citizen must be fully vaccinated or have a valid medical exemption to enter the country.
Last year, Mr West confirmed he had only received one dose of the vaccine and he had to travel to Paris via Portugal to circumnavigate France’s tough vaccination rules.
“I travelled to Paris a couple weeks ago, and I had to go through Lisbon because you can go through Lisbon without being vaccinated,” he told Drunk Champs.
“I only got one of the shots, so I’m half-ccinated.”
In 2020, Mr West told Forbes although he had previously contracted Covid, he believed the vaccine was the mark of the devil.
“When they say the way we’re going to fix Covid is with a vaccine, I’m extremely cautious. That’s the mark of the beast,” he said at the time.
“They want to put chips inside of us, they want to do all kinds of things, to make it where we can’t cross the gates of heaven.”
The visa roadblock is just another blow for the star, whose request for the AFL to move an opening round fixture between St Kilda and Collingwood at Marvel Stadium to another venue so he could perform there failed.
