Why was Kanye West denied entry into Australia? Rapper and wife Bianca Censori joined by her parents in Japan
TOKYO, JAPAN: Kanye West is currently holidaying in Japan with his wife Bianca Censori. The couple was joined by Censori’s sister, Angelina Censori, and her parents. While the entire family has not yet been seen together, from the various posts shared by Angelina on her social media account, it can be said the Wests have met with the Censoris in Tokyo.
Angelina took to her Instagram to share a photo of the rapper and her designer sister where they were seen in the streets of the Japanese capital. Kanye West, who has now opted for the moniker ‘Ye’, was seen in a laidback black casual attire. Wife Bianca opted for a striking red bodysuit. In another snap, Angelina shared a picture of her parents, Leo and Alexandra walking hand in hand in the streets of Tokyo, as per Daily Mail.
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The ‘Heartless’ singer married the designer Bianca Censori back in January 2023 in a non-legally binding ceremony. However, both of them call themselves married and wear wedding bands.
However, many wondered why Kanye West didn't meet his in-laws in Australia, which is Bianca's native country, and chose to meet them in Japan instead. The reason might lie hidden in the stringent immigrant policy of the country.
Why did Kanye West not meet his in-laws in Australia?
While it cannot be said for sure whether Kanye West was denied entry into Australia, Kanye West’s meeting with his in-laws in 'neutral' Japan can be linked with the warning of an Australian minister back in January. It has been reported that the Yeezy founder previously made a plan to visit his in-laws, Bianca Censori’s parents, in Australia. But due to unknown reasons, the plan did not materialize. However, in January 2023, an Australian minister warned in a public interview that the ‘Heartless’ singer might be denied entry into the island nation owing to his antisemitic comments.
In January, when Australian media speculated that Ye could visit Australia, the Minister for Education Jason Clare castigated him for his controversial remarks on antisemitism. He further said that in the past too, applications by similar personalities were rejected. He said, “People like that who’ve applied for visas to get into Australia in the past have been rejected.” “I expect that if he does apply he would have to go through the same process and answer the same questions that they did,” Clare said to Nine News as per CNN.
Australia is particularly strict about its visa policies and prefers the individual applying for visas to pass the character test. Failing which, the person’s entry can be banned. An opposition leader Peter Dutton, who was also the immigration minister in a previous regime said that while he would prefer to ban Kanye West, the government would take the decision. However, he opined, “His antisemitic comments are disgraceful, his conduct [and] his behavior are appalling,” before adding, “He’s not a person of good character and the minister has the ability to stop somebody coming into our country of bad character.”
Even the co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Peter Wertheim met the government officials in January to ban Ye’s entry in the country. He said to Sky News, as quoted by CNN, “We had a sympathetic hearing,” before adding, “We’ve made the case that this particular individual does not meet the character test and that it would be in the national interest not to grant him a visa and we set out our reasons in some detail in that letter.”
What did Kanye West say?
On December 6, 2022, West in an interview with the ‘Proud Boys’ founder Gavin McInnes said a plethora of comments that labeled him antisemitic all at once. He started the interview with "Jewish people can't tell me who I can love and who I can't love," before adding, "You can't force your pain on everyone else," as reported by Business Standard.
Kim Kardashian’s former husband then continued to urge the Jews controversially to “forgive Hitler”, "Jewish people - forgive Hitler today . . . Let it go. Let it go. Stop trying to force it on other people." West continued to say that the cause of Jewish people’s discontent with the Nazi leader was because “Hitler was kicking them out of the country." He even compared Holocaust with abortion saying, "The Holocaust is not the only holocaust. So for them to take that and claim when we have abortions right now. That's eugenics. That's genocide. That's a holocaust that we're dealing with right now.”