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Kanye West Reveals Why He's Allegedly Banned From Super Bowl

Originally posted on The Spun | By Kameron Duncan | Last updated Apr 9, 2025 5:33 PM ET

Kanye West has sold millions of records and is considered a musical icon, buth he's never appeared on one of music's biggest stages. A Grammy winner and even a tourer of arenas and stadiums has never played for that specific audience, and he has a theory on why.

West says that personal choices have affected his career, but he listed them in a manner that suggests that he was a victim of circumstance and bad decisions.

"I never was allowed to do the Super Bowl because of three moments. George Bush don’t care about Black people. The Taylor Swift movement moment. Wearing a MAGA hat," West said on social media.

Swift and West have been linked since his interruption of the singer at the 2009 VMAs. West, who has said that he was inebriated, ran on stage to assert that Beyonce should have been given the award.

Swift has attempted to remove herself from association with West, but he's repeatedly referenced her and the situation in his music.

West also referenced a recent controversy he's been involved in, with language on social media that some believe has been anti semitic in nature. West was also criticized for selling an offensive T-shirt on his website and using an ad during the Super Bowl to promote it.

West is likely too polarizing of a figure to be invited to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show these ays, but he would have been a likely choice in the height of his career. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, West was seen as an eccentric artists with devoted fans.

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 13: Antonio Brown, Kanye West and North West attend Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Steph Chambers/Getty Images

These days, many see him in a negative light after his connections to right-wing extremism over the last few years.

The Super Bowl halftime show hasn't excluded younger musicians or even rappers in recent years. Kendrick Lamar performed this year in New Orleans, and he was preceded by Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and others in Los Angeles three years ago.

West is unlikely to be on stage for Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara. We'll see which artists takes on the challenge after well-received shows from Lamar and Sza, Rihanna and Usher over the last several games.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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