Kanye West has axed the remainder of his Saint Pablo Tour following a series of bizarre on-stage incidents.
Gerrick Kennedy of the LA Times reports that Kanye has informed his crew that the remaining dates of the US Saint Pablo Tour “are nixed.” It’s unclear whether a planned 2017 European tour will go as scheduled, Kennedy added. According to a Consequence of Sound source, Kanye had also planned to hit the American music festival circuit next summer.
Multiple emails to Kanye’s representatives have gone unreturned as of publication. Update: A representative for Kanye has confirmed that the remaining shows have in fact been cancelled. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. According to E! News, “exhaustion” is being cited as the reason for the tour’s cancelation.
Since kicking off the second leg of his Saint Pablo Tour in San Jose last Thursday, Kanye managed to finish just one concert in full. A second ended after only 30 minutes, and a third was canceled just hours before it was scheduled to begin.
It was during this first show in San Jose wherein the Chicago rapper-producer expressed his support for Presidential-elect Donald Trump, saying, “If I would’ve voted, I would’ve voted on Trump.” Inside the arena, the comments were met with boos. Outside, the reaction was just as unfavorable; DeRay Mckesson, a leader of Black Lives Matter, tweeted, “This isn’t the first time he’s said statements that don’t quite make sense.”
On Saturday night, Kanye returned to the stage in Sacramento. After performing just four songs, he launched into a tirade that saw him question President Obama’s blackness, accuse Beyoncé of playing politics with the VMAs, and insinuate that her husband, Jay Z, had hitmen who might come for his head. After a half hour, he left the stage and never returned. Fellow rapper Snoop Dogg reacted to the meltdown, saying, “I smoke weed. Weed don’t make you do that. What the fuck is he on?”
The following night, Kanye’s scheduled concert in Los Angeles was canceled hours before it was scheduled to take place. The show at LA’s Forum was actually a rescheduled date from when he brought his November 3rd concert at the venue to an early end due to his loss of voice. He had promised to make it up to fans when he could “do better,” offering those who hadn’t requested refunds entry to the show, as well as giving away free tickets to local inner-city schools and music programs.
