Kanye West Denied Entry to Australia, Here's Everything You Need to Know
Published: 3 Jul 2025
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Kanye West has had his visa cancelled by officials due to his antisemitic song titled 'Heil Hitler,' which has been removed from streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.
The rapper and fashion designer is married to architectural designer Bianca Censori, who was born in Australia and holds a bachelor's and master's degree in architecture from the University of Melbourne. The pair, which tied the knot under a confidential marriage license in December 2022, were likely visiting for a holiday.
Speaking to ABC's Afternoon Briefing, Immigration Minister Tony Burke said the musician, who was not coming to Australia for advocacy purposes, would not be welcome after releasing the song. 'I'm not taking away the way the act operates, but even for the lowest level of visa, when my officials looked at it, they cancelled that following the announcement of that song,' he said. 'We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry.'
Ye and Australian wife Biance Censori | Image: Supplied
This is the first time that a low-level visa application like Ye's has been cancelled for these reasons, according to Burke.
He said that typically, a 'stricter line' applies to those who want to visit Australia for the purposes of public advocacy, but that was not the intention of West. Still, his office saw enough reason to cancel the visa after the release of the antisemitic song 'Heil Hitler,' which was released on May 8, 2025, as the third single from his upcoming album, In a Perfect World.
The rapper recently announced that he was 'done with antisemitism', releasing a song titled 'Hallelujah' on May 31 as an alternate version of 'Heil Hitler' that replaces its references to Nazism with lyrics relating to Christianity.
'He's made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again once he released song,' Burke continued.
'He's got family here … It wasn't a visa for the purpose of concerts. It was a lower-level 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.'
The rapper has recently announced concerts in Korea, Shanghai, and Slovakia for July 2025 and a one-night performance in Brazil in November 2025. His last performance was a Vultures Listening Experience in September last year at the Wuyuan River Sports Stadium in Haikou, China.
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Former royal commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said this week that it was "shameful" that we have failed to implement the detailed recommendations to strengthen child safety from a decade ago. He is correct, and now we need to face up to why this has been allowed to happen. It is shameful that the advice of experts continues to be ignored and the risks to the safety and wellbeing of our children are neglected. We don't need more royal commissions and inquiries. We know what to do. Core recommendations in our Help Way Earlier! report tabled in Parliament last year were about governments across our federation working together on reform and making child wellbeing a national priority, at national cabinet. READ MORE: Right now, there is an absence of national leadership and co-ordination. Child wellbeing is not a priority for national cabinet, and there is no cabinet minister for children. 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Over the last few years, we have been collectively horrified by the notorious case of Ashley Griffith who abused children in childcare centres in Queensland and NSW. And now we have these terrible allegations coming out of Melbourne. How did we end up in this place where governments knew what to do to help fix the problems and keep our children safe, but did not act? To answer these questions, it is necessary to understand that the federation structure splits responsibilities across different levels of government, and that there is no one accountable for child safety and wellbeing in the Australian government. In contrast, we have had ministers for women for decades, and "women and women's safety" is listed as a key priority for national cabinet, which is where the prime minister and state and territory leaders work together on "issues of national significance". The complete absence of visibility and accountability for child safety and wellbeing at the national level has allowed the risks to remain unaddressed and the solutions not implemented. This is despite endless media exposés and tragic stories of abuse of children. We cannot allow the federation to be an excuse for not acting urgently on the safety and wellbeing of our children. The latest scandal is taking place in childcare centres, but this is not just an issue for the early childhood education and care sector. The failure to prioritise child safety and wellbeing and implement child safeguarding measures affects all children everywhere: in schools, after-school care, out-of-home care, youth detention, sporting clubs and holiday programs. Anywhere you find children, there will be child safety risks that must be addressed. Former royal commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said this week that it was "shameful" that we have failed to implement the detailed recommendations to strengthen child safety from a decade ago. He is correct, and now we need to face up to why this has been allowed to happen. It is shameful that the advice of experts continues to be ignored and the risks to the safety and wellbeing of our children are neglected. We don't need more royal commissions and inquiries. We know what to do. Core recommendations in our Help Way Earlier! report tabled in Parliament last year were about governments across our federation working together on reform and making child wellbeing a national priority, at national cabinet. READ MORE: Right now, there is an absence of national leadership and co-ordination. Child wellbeing is not a priority for national cabinet, and there is no cabinet minister for children. These gaps have allowed a lack of accountability to persist, leading to critical reforms not being implemented. For our youngest children, we need a childcare industry with stronger regulation, independent monitoring and oversight, and comprehensive enforceable child safeguarding measures. Everyone involved needs to make child safety their number one priority, from the boardroom to the sandpit. This week has shown that the public wants more than just cheaper childcare. We demand safer childcare. And importantly, our children, our youngest citizens, must not be sidelined and kept waiting for critical reforms that we know will help to keep them safe. The new term of Parliament is the opportunity to demonstrate to the Australian public that child safety and wellbeing will be a national priority from now on.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The one simple choice that could transform your workday
In 2023, an Australian news presenter descended into helpless giggles when her on-air guest accidentally applied a Zoom filter that adorned him with a tiny pizza hat. While the full recording is lost to the mists of time, I can say with vast confidence that witnessing a bashful man from the Royal Automobile Association flee the screen, thanks to the indignity of his tiny pizza hat, was infinitely more entertaining and joyful than whatever he was there to discuss. Cars, I imagine. Zoom and other video call mainstays – like Google Meet or the blighted and forbidden Microsoft Teams – have cemented their place in work culture, thanks to the rise of remote work and the legacy of COVID lockdowns. For many, this means much of your day is spent staring at your co-workers shrunken into tiny grey squares, microphone muted, an open tab with a beguiling lamp for sale demanding your attention. No matter how exciting, fun or satisfying your career is, the day-to-day drudgery of the 9-to-5 can swiftly become a monotonous bore. The office transforms into a depressing, yoghurt smelling cage, your desk a yoghurt-spattered shackle; and Cindy from HR, a nightmare who keeps offering you yoghurt. It's easy to get bored. I once worked in an office where a truck got stuck in the street, and we all gathered to watch it fail to budge for about four hours – seriously, a stationary truck was more interesting than our jobs. This begs the question: why are we letting our video calls remain such a dull punishment when, with just a click of a button, they could easily become a fun and whimsical experience? For most professional situations, you're presented with two key video options: the ever-mysterious blurred background or the bold declaration of going au naturel, an untouched background that offers a brief and usually uninteresting window into your co-workers lives, minus the celebrity cameo from an angry, food-begging cat or a glimpse of a snoozing dog. The blur is an incontrovertibly untrustworthy move to make. What are you trying to hide from the greedy eyes of your co-workers? A scary hoarder's house full of filth? Or perhaps you're 'working from home' from a pristine island beach somewhere.
