Kanye West has been banned from performing at the 2022 Grammy Awards, Variety reports. In a statement obtained by Variety on Saturday, West’s rep only said, “This is confirmed,” citing a March 18 report in The Blast. The report claims that the 22-time Grammy-winning artist learned via a phone call that he had been removed from the lineup of performers at the 64th annual Grammy Awards. Representatives for the Recording Academy and CBS did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.
The news comes shortly after West was reportedly suspended from Instagram for 24 hours due to using a racial slur against Trevor Noah, who recently made comments about West and his estranged wife Kim Kardashian‘s divorce. “Kanye has become more and more belligerent in how he tries to get Kim back,” he said on “The Daily Show” at the time. He’s also hosting the Grammys on April 3. On Sunday morning, Noah weighed in on the situation, tweeting, “I said counsel Kanye not cancel Kanye.”
Though West hasn’t been announced as a performer at this year’s Grammys, the 44-year-old rapper is nominated for five awards, including album of the year and best rap album for “Donda.”