Kanye scraps US tour after rant about Jay Z, Beyonce
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attends the HBO Documentary Films "Beyonce: Life Is But A Dream" New York Premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater on February 12, 2013 in New York City.
Rap superstar Kanye West has pulled the plug on his North American tour, organizers said Monday, two days after a rambling onstage tirade against fellow artists Jay Z and Beyonce.
The “Saint Pablo Tour” was set to run through December 31, but all 21 remaining shows are canceled and ticket-holders have been contacted about refunds, a spokeswoman for promoter Live Nation told AFP.
West, who is married to reality-TV queen Kim Kardashian, has not made any personal statement on the cancelation and his representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Celebrity gossip website TMZ quoted an unnamed source saying the rapper was pulling out because he was exhausted.
“He’s been working around the clock on fashion design, both his own line and the Adidas line,” the source was quoted as saying. The announcement followed a Saturday night show in Sacramento, where West showed up an hour late and performed three songs before berating other artists and defeated White House hopeful Hillary Clinton, and cutting the performance short.
West said he was “hurt” because Beyonce supposedly said she would not perform at a certain show — likely the Grammys — unless she wins video of the year over him. “I’ve been sent here to give y’all my truth, even at the risk of my own life, even at the risk of my own success, my own career,” West said.
He implored Beyonce’s husband, the rapper Jay Z, to “call me, bro, you still ain’t called me.” “Jay Z, I know you got killers. Please don’t send them at my head. Just call me. Talk to me like a man,” he added. West canceled a show planned for Sunday at the Forum, an indoor arena in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, just hours before it was set to start.
The concert was supposed to make up for West leaving early from a November 3 appearance at the Forum due to what he called vocal issues. The rapper told an audience on Thursday that he did not vote — but would have chosen Republican Donald Trump if he had cast his ballot. West — who has talked about plans to run for president in 2020 — said Trump could help bring about change by exposing racism.
