Kanye West’s summer tour continues to generate controversy before a single note is played stateside. San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones went public Saturday night with her position on the rapper’s scheduled July 4th concert at the Alamodome, a city-funded venue that can accommodate more than 70,000 fans with an in-the-round layout.
“I support canceling the @kanyewest concert,” Jones posted on X. “Military City USA should not host someone with a record of hate speech and antisemitic comments in a city-funded facility like our Alamodome — not ever, and certainly not on July 4th, our Nation’s 250th birthday. Standing up to antisemitism is exactly what it takes to achieve a more perfect Union.”
Tickets for the show had gone on sale just a day before Jones made her position public, ranging from 1,461.25 for a front-row experience. As of the time of this writing, the concert remains listed as scheduled.
The San Antonio mayor is not alone in her opposition. Florida Senator Rick Scott had already sent a letter to the Tampa Sports Authority urging them to cancel West’s June 26 and 28 shows at Raymond James Stadium, calling the rapper’s history of comments “a slap in the face” to the state’s Jewish community. In January of this year, West published a lengthy full-page apology in the Wall Street Journal, attributing his behavior to a prolonged manic episode. “I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it,” he wrote. “I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change.”
The apology did not put the controversy to rest. His international tour has already been marked by cancellations in England, Poland, and France, with venues and local officials pulling out in each case due to his antisemitic history. A planned performance in Prague also fell apart when the venue withdrew.
Despite the mounting pressure, the Tampa shows and the San Antonio date remain on the calendar for now. The broader debate around whether artists with histories of harmful public statements should be permitted to perform in publicly funded facilities is playing out in real time around West’s summer schedule.
