Petition launched for Kanye West’s removal from Rubicon Festival lineup following ‘Heil Hitler’ performance announcement 

Kanye West has been announced as one of the performers at the upcoming edition of the Rubicon Festival in Slovakia. The announcement, captioned as the singer’s only show in Europe, was made by the festival on its official Instagram page on June 21, 2025.

The announcement of Kanye West as one of the artists in their lineup by the festival has caused significant backlash among critics and artists alike. This includes the launch of a petition to the mayors of Bratislava and the City of Bratislava, asking them to prevent West from performing at the event. The petition has already garnered more than 4,000 signatures. It states:

"We are watching with deep concern the announced performance of the American musician Ye (Kanye West) at the Rubicon festival in Záhorská Bystrica, who in recent years has repeatedly and openly declared himself to be associated with the darkest period of modern world history – the period of World War II and the N*zi regime."

The petition continues:

"Kanye West, also referred to as Ye:In his musical work, he glorifies the person of Adolf Hitler, the leader of the regime responsible for unleashing the largest military conflict in the history of mankind, which is responsible for millions of dead civilians and the systematic extermination of nations, including the genocide unleashed against the Jewish population around the world."

The petition later points out that the singer released a song named Heil Hitler and sold T-shirts with the swastika symbol:

"In May this year, he released a song called "Heil Hitler", which is banned in Germany, for example, and sold T-shirts with the swastika symbol on his e-shop as the only available product – which cannot be perceived otherwise than as a conscious effort to spread militaristic and totalitarian symbolism."

The petition ends with the petitioners asking the abovementioned mayors to prevent the performance from taking place:

"Therefore, we strongly ask you as a public representative to use your legal authority and in accordance with the laws... that you use all available legal and legal means to prevent the performance of this musician."

Kanye West released Heil Hitler in May 2025

As mentioned in the petition, Kanye West released his new single, Heil Hitler, in May 2025, specifically on May 8, 2025. The song has millions of views on YouTube, though not on his official channel. The song has also been banned on SoundCloud and other streaming services. The track has received extremely negative criticism from critics over its glorification of the N*zi symbol.

Heil Hitler is the latest instance of the singer’s foray into N*zi ideology. Back in 2022, the singer started spreading antisemitic comments regarding Jews in Hollywood and what he perceived to be their dominance over the industry. He also made statements involving Holocaust denial and more.

This was followed by a period support of for N*zi and white supremacist ideology. On more than one ocassion, the singer has worn a Klu Klux Klan outfit, and he simultaneously withdrew from mainstream media due to boycotts and bans.

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However, the singer remains ever popular with his fans and supporters. This is evidenced by the success of his recent albums, which have gone on to become chart toppers despite being released independently on his own website. He has also collaborated with artists such as Playboi Carti, and more recently.

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