Kanye West, once one of the most influential figures in global music, is now in the midst of a career and financial freefall. Banned from major countries and unable to secure big-ticket gigs, the rapper is grappling with mounting financial pressure, abandoned by long-time allies, and still funding extravagant appearances by his wife, Bianca Censori.
The rapper, who once headlined global arenas, is now booked to play a relatively small music festival in Bratislava, Slovakia, on July 20. The Rubicon Festival, with a capacity of just 26,000, marks a sharp contrast to the 80,000-seat stadiums West used to fill with ease. Industry sources say West is demanding an appearance fee of $7 million per show, a figure higher than what Adele or Coldplay typically receive, but with almost no takers.
“He’s getting his team to phone around desperately asking for gigs,” one source told. “No one will touch him with a barge pole. Wembley and the London Stadium both said: ‘No chance, we don’t need the protests,’ and that was before the Heil Hitler single came out.”
Globally shunned, unable to travel
West’s attempts to reboot his music career are being thwarted by widespread bans and venue rejections across the globe. According to insiders, he has been told to “stay away” from Germany, France, the UK, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, and Australia, either due to visa issues or venue boycotts stemming from his repeated public support for Fascist ideologies and pro-Nazi rhetoric.
In the UK, both Wembley Stadium and the London Stadium rejected his team’s approach even before the May 8 release of Heil Hitler, a song that ends with an audio sample from a 1935 Adolf Hitler speech. The track has been banned in Germany for violating hate speech laws and removed from major streaming platforms, except for Elon Musk’s X.
Australia, where West’s wife Bianca is from, has now officially barred him from entering. “He’s made a lot of offensive comments,” said Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. “But after the Heil Hitler song, he no longer has a valid visa. I think what’s not sustainable is to import hatred.”
Financial pressures mount
West’s public and industry exile has had serious financial consequences. He reportedly lost $3 million overnight in May, and his income streams are rapidly drying up. Once worth an estimated $2 billion, West was dropped from the Forbes billionaire list after Adidas canceled its lucrative Yeezy partnership. His wealth is now estimated at around $400 million.
Shopify also pulled his Yeezy website, while Balenciaga and The Gap severed ties. “He’s still living like a billionaire, but the money has stopped rolling in,” a source said. “He was badly hurt by the end of the Adidas deal.”
The rapper is also battling losses from failed real estate investments, including a $36 million hit on a Malibu home, and racks up hefty hotel bills by staying in five-star accommodations with and without Bianca. Despite financial strain, insiders say he continues to pay Bianca hundreds of thousands of dollars to wear the provocative outfits he designs. West’s inner circle is crumbling. Far-right commentator and publicist Milo Yiannopoulos has reportedly dropped him. His long-time manager John Monopoly has also walked away.
At the same time, West is facing up to a dozen lawsuits from former employees, potentially resulting in millions in legal fees and settlements. One concert promoter in China even cut his fee in half, slashing $3.5 million, after West violated a ‘good behaviour’ clause in the contract by releasing Heil Hitler.
Despite all this, West has continued to tout for business via social media. Although he deleted his X account, he still retains a large Instagram following. However, sources say he has begun demanding upfront payments directly into his personal account, a red flag for promoters worried he could cancel last minute without consequences.
Backlash in Slovakia
West’s upcoming performance at the Rubicon Festival is drawing widespread condemnation. A petition, signed by over 3,500 people, urges Bratislava’s mayor to cancel the event. The petition, backed by groups like Peace for Ukraine and Cities for Democracy, calls West “one of the world’s most famous antisemites” and warns the concert could attract “radical and extremist groups” from across Europe. “Hosting him in Bratislava is an insult to historic memory, a glorification of wartime violence and debasement of all victims of the Nazi regime,” it reads.
Slovakia, which lost over 70,000 Jews during the Holocaust, is now facing global scrutiny for being one of the few places willing to host the embattled star. Once a cultural powerhouse with fashion and music empires, Kanye West is now rapidly running out of places to perform, people to work with, and sources of income. With a shrinking team, rising legal troubles, and widespread bans, the future for West looks increasingly bleak, a tragic descent for a man who once stood at the pinnacle of global fame.