Tyler, The Creator expanded his list of ‘Countries I’ve Been Banned From‘ this week to two, with U.K. officials cancelling his visa. [The first on that list was, of course, us.]
The British government have now explained its decision to ban Tyler, The Creator from the country, forcing him to cancel multiple performances:
“Coming to the UK is a privilege, and we expect those who come here to respect our shared values,” they said in a statement. “The Home Secretary has the power to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good or if their exclusion is justified on public policy grounds.”
Or in other words – literally:
BASED ON LYRICS FROM 2009 I AM NOT ALLOWED IN THE UK FOR 3-5 YEARS ( although i was there 8 weeks ago) THAT IS WHY THE SHOWS WERE CANCELLED.
— Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) August 26, 2015
*listens to last three releases in confusion*
— Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) August 26, 2015
Yesterday, his manager Christian Clancy explained that Tyler, The Creator’s lyrics were the reason behind the ban, with the Home Office specifically citing lyrics he wrote six to seven years ago for the albums “Bastard” and “Goblin”.
“Highlights from the letter include that his work ‘encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality’ and ‘fosters hatred with views that seek to provoke others to terrorist acts’,” he wrote on Tumblr. “Tyler has been in the UK over 20x in the last 5 years without incident (shows, in-stores, meet and greets). We rented out a movie theatre last month in London for a private showing of Napoleon Dynamite for his fans. Literally last month.”
Australia… the U.K…. Tyler, The Creator’s passport is getting absolutely no love. If this sets a new precedent in which artists are banned for lyrics of old, then we can basically just throw Eminem in the bin right now and save the Border Force the trouble.
Picture: Jeff Kravitz via Getty Images.
via The Quietus.
