Turns out a 24 hour Instagram suspension wasn’t the only punishment for Kanye West’s increasingly erratic rage posting. Despite receiving five Grammy nominations for Donda—including Album of the Year—the polarizing rapper has been banned from performing at this year’s ceremony.
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This action was taken after Kanye directed racial slurs toward Grammy host Trevor Noah, following his comments about the artist’s continued harassment of his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. His “concerning online behavior” was given as the reason for the ban.
Noah responded to the news of Kanye’s Grammy ban with a tweet stating, “I said counsel Kanye not cancel Kanye.” E! News is reporting that sources close to the comedian say he “never asked the Grammys to ban Kanye from performing.”
This all started when Noah, whose mother is a domestic violence survivor, did a segment on The Daily Show where he called out how dangerous and alarming Kanye’s continued online harassment of Kim and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson, has been. He didn’t call West names, or yell and scream, it was a reasonable, thoughtful response from someone who’s been down a similar path and wants to stop Kanye before he goes too far.
Trevor has handled this whole situation with such grace. He even responded to Kanye’s incendiary post with praise for how the rapper had impacted his life and career, before switching to understanding and compassion.
“There are few artists who have had more of an impact on me than you Ye...Which is why it breaks my heart to see you like this,” The Daily Show host wrote.
“I don’t care if you support [Donald] Trump and I don’t care if you roast Pete,” Noah continued in a comment under West’s since-deleted post, per screenshots. “I do however care when I see you on a path that’s dangerously close to peril and pain. You have every right to fight for your family. But you have to know the difference between that and fighting your family...If you’re just joking about it all and I’m an idiot for caring, then so be it. But I’d rather be the idiot who spoke up and said something to you in life, than the cool guy who said nothing and then mourns for you in prison or the grave.”
Kanye may be banned from performing at the Grammys, but he’s still nominated for Rap Album of the Year for Donda, Melodic Rap Performance for “Hurricane,” Rap Song for “Jail,” as well as a second nomination for Album of the Year for his work on Montero by Lil Nas X.
The Grammys, hosted by Trevor Noah, air live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+.
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