TAMPA, June 28 — By nightfall, mobile billboards were circling Raymond James Stadium, their messages aimed at the thousands arriving to hear Kanye West perform. The rapper, who now goes by Ye, took the stage Friday despite a concerted push by Republican Senator Rick Scott to have the concerts canceled over what Scott called Ye’s history of antisemitism. The scene outside the stadium was charged.
Protesters and concertgoers passed under the glow of the billboards, which had been organized to make a point about the performer’s past statements. Inside, the Tampa Sports Authority had already made its position clear: it condemns antisemitism, but it also respects Ye’s constitutional right to free speech.
The Authority also pushed back against Scott’s central argument, denying that taxpayer money was being used to stage the concerts at all. Scott wasn’t buying it. Earlier this month, he stood alongside Holocaust survivors, Jewish leaders, and other politicians at a press conference demanding that Ye’s performances not be tolerated in Tampa.
The petition he circulated was blunt: “There’s no place for antisemitism in Florida, especially at the expense of the taxpayer.” The senator’s language was direct. “As leaders, we should do everything in our power to keep public money and resources out of this kind of event,” the petition read, “and that’s why these concerts should not take place at Raymond James Stadium or any other publicly supported venue in the State of Florida.” By Friday, Scott had received some assurances.
In a post on X/Twitter about the concert, he wrote that he had been informed Ye would not be permitted to sell Nazi-related merchandise, would not perform his song “Heil Hitler,” and would not display any images or videos glorifying or promoting Nazism. “It’s deeply concerning there even has to be a commitment like this made by a performer in a publicly funded facility,” Scott wrote. On the ground, residents described a city caught between a performer’s right to work and the weight of his public history.
The protests were visible, the billboards were circling, and the concert went on. The question now is whether this is the end of the story or just the opening act. Scott has made clear he does not consider the matter closed.
With Holocaust survivors having already stood with him in public, and with the senator continuing to push the issue on social media, the pressure on publicly funded venues to vet performers for hate speech is unlikely to fade. For now, Tampa has hosted the show.
What that means for future concerts in Florida’s taxpayer-supported spaces remains to be seen.
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