Ye West is once again making headlines—this time for shedding light on why he believes he’s never graced the Super Bowl halftime stage and probably never will.
In a recent post on X, the rapper and producer, formerly known as Kanye West, attributed his absence from one of the world’s biggest performance platforms to three defining, and divisive, moments in his career.
“I never was allowed to do the Super Bowl because of 3 moments,” he wrote. “George Bush don’t care about black people. The Taylor Swift moment. Wearing a MAGA hat.”
Kanye West (L) jumps onstage after Taylor Swift (C) won the “Best Female Video” award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009 in New York City.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images
To say each incident, now etched into pop culture’s permanent memory, sparked major public backlash would be a massive understatement.
From his infamous 2005 comment during a Hurricane Katrina relief telethon, to the 2009 MTV VMA stage interruption involving Taylor Swift, to his vocal support for Donald Trump while donning a MAGA hat—Ye’s public persona has so often been wrapped in controversy that it’s easier to remember him when he was just a musician.
“How it feel to be the best living and blocked from the main stage because of being ahead of my time,” he continued. “And I mean all of this before I went full Nazi of course.”
Ye poses for a photo as he arrives for the fight between Jamel Herring and Shakur Stevenson at State Farm Arena on October 23, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Brandon Magnus/Getty Images
The statement comes years after Ye co-headlined a pre-Super Bowl concert in 2015 with Rihanna in Glendale, Arizona—his closest brush with the halftime spotlight.
Adding layers to the snub are Ye’s more recent controversies, including his antisemitic remarks and ongoing feuds, like his highly publicized fallout with former collaborator JAY-Z.
Kanye West attends the Fast Company Innovation Festival – Day 3 Arrivals on November 07, 2019 in New York City.
Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company
He’s also been critical of past Super Bowl performers, taking shots at the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, and Bruno Mars—perhaps burning bridges before they could even be built.
Despite his claims of being “the best living,” Ye remains one of the few global icons yet to headline the Super Bowl, a stage he now suggests was never truly open to him.
See Ye’s X post below.
X/kanyewest
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