Kanye West’s visa reportedly canceled over controversial Hitler-themed song

Kanye West's Australian visa has been revoked following the release of his Hitler-themed song. The news was confirmed by Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who cited the release of the song as the primary reason for the decision. The decision came despite West’s previous family ties (Bianca Censori is Australian) and long-time visitor status in Australia.

In the statement released to ABC News, Mr. Burke shed light on the reasons why the Australian considered taking such a drastic measure. While talking to the press, the Australian Home Affairs Minister admitted that it was the Heil Hitler song specifically that caused the issues and not the statements that Kanye West had put out earlier in support of the German dictator. Further elaborating on the topic, he said:

"If someone argued that anti-Semitism was rational, I would not let them come here. [West] has been coming to Australia for a long time… and he’s made a lot of offensive comments. But my officials looked at it again once he released the Heil Hitler song, and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia.”

He then went on to add:

“It was a lower-level visa, and the officials still looked at the law and said if you’re going to have a song and promote that sort of Nazism, we don’t need that in Australia. We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry."

Implications for Kanye West

Kanye West released Heil Hitler in May 2025, and shows stills of the rapper openly professing his admiration for the leader of N*zi Germany. The song has attracted a lot of flak for its incendiary remarks, which even led to several music companies removing the song from their platforms. These aren’t the first immigration issues that Kanye West is facing, either, as several countries have previously considered banning the artist, including Slovakia.

West had also faced monetary losses in the past owing to his antisemitic statements, when he lost major brand deals. Earlier this year, he also released ads promoting swastika-themed merchandise before he went on to release the “HEIL HITLER” music video with N*zi imagery.

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Despite the fact that this song has been re-marketed as Hallelujah, Kanye West's visa scandal is only the most recent episode in the artist’s increasingly troubled public persona. West and his representatives have made no public statement on the cancellation of the visa as of the time of reporting.

It remains unclear if Kanye West would be able to find some respite in his future endeavors to get his visa approved. Mr. Tony Burke has pointed towards a legal precedent for these types of scenarios, as the Australian government has previously banned political commentator Candace Owens from the country as well.

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