Tyler, The Creator clarifies Reading & Leeds cancellation

Earlier this week, Tyler, The Creator announced he was no longer playing any of his planned UK and Ireland live gigs - including dates in Belfast, Dublin and slots at Reading & Leeds - this week due to the helpfully unspecific “circumstances”.

“The canceling [sic] of the shows are beyond my control,” he later added, “I’m not the type to cancel shows.”

He’s today added some further context - it would appear past lyrics have him the wrong side of the UK visa people.

BASED ON LYRICS FROM 2009 I AM NOT ALLOWED IN THE UK FOR 3-5 YEARS ( although i was there 8 weeks ago) THAT IS WHY THE SHOWS WERE CANCELLED.
— Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) August 26, 2015

*listens to last three releases in confusion*
— Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) August 26, 2015

A post by Tyler’s manager, Christian Clancy, explains further.

“tyler has been banned from entering the UK for somewhere between 3 to 5 years per a letter from the secretary of state for the home department of the united kingdom”, he reports. “the letter specifically cites lyrics he wrote 6-7 years ago for his albums bastard and goblin – the type of lyrics he hasn’t written since… highlights from the letter include that his work “encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality” and “fosters hatred with views thats seek to provoke others to terrorist acts..””

Just a matter of weeks ago, Tyler cancelled his Australian tour after activist organisation Collective Shout had campaigned for his visa to be revoked, as “the content of the product he sells propagates discriminatory ideas about women and other groups, and represents a danger to a segment of the Australian community on the potential basis of incitement to acts of hatred.”

Update: (27/08/2015 - 13:42)

The U.K. Home Office have responded with the following statement.

“Coming to the UK is a privilege, and we expect those who come here to respect our shared values. The Home Secretary has the power to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good or if their exclusion is justified on public policy grounds.”

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Tags: News, Festivals, Reading & Leeds, Tyler, The Creator