The reason Kanye West was a no show at Donald Trump’s inauguration

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Kanye West has never been shy about his support for Donald Trump, so his absence from the 47th president’s inauguration had people wondering — where was Ye?

Turns out, the 47-year-old “Stronger” rapper allegedly wasn’t welcome at the historic event unless he issued another public statement — something he had no interest in doing.

“It’s the censorship stigma,” Ye told podcast host Justin Laboy in a clip — reportedly from an upcoming episode of the Respectfully Justin podcast — that played on a big screen during a Grammys after-party on Sunday, February 2. “I was gonna go to the inauguration. They told me I had to write another apology, and say again that I wasn’t an antisemitic.”

The moment the footage aired was captured at the soiree and later obtained by TMZ, which published it on Monday, February 3. In the clip, the muti-time Grammy winner is seen among the crowd, watching the unreleased podcast episode.

Ye’s remarks come after years of controversy over his antisemitic comments. In 2022, he posted on X (formerly Twitter), “I’m going death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE,” adding, “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also.” The post led to restrictions on his social media accounts. Later that year, he sparked further backlash by publicly praising Adolf Hitler.

“Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler,” Ye said in an interview with Alex Jones at the time. “I see good things about Hitler.”

Shortly after, the hip-hop artist’s partnerships with Balenciaga and Adidas came to an end.

“Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness,” Adidas said in a statement.

The following year, Ye issued a public apology, posting a message in Hebrew on Instagram, saying he “deeply regret[ted] any pain” his words had caused. The post was later deleted. Around the same time, he stirred more controversy with another antisemitic rant during a Las Vegas event, where he shouted, “Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye! Sponsor that!!!”

Even after all the controversy, Trump, 78, still had positive things to say about Ye last year, describing him as “complicated” but emphasizing that he’s a “really nice guy” with a “good heart.”

Ye shares four kids — North, 11, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 5 — with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian. The former couple started dating in 2011, tied the knot in 2014, and finalized their divorce in November 2022. In early 2023, the dad of four began dating Bianca Censori.