SoFi Stadium Adds Second Kanye West Concert Despite Backlash From Jewish Advocates

SoFi Stadium faces criticism from Jewish advocates for hosting an upcoming Kanye “Ye” West concert series.

West is scheduled to perform at the Los Angeles area venue on April 3. According to the stadium’s website, a second show was just added for April 1, coinciding with the release of West’s 12th studio album Bully on March 27.

SoFi Stadium holds more than 70,000 seats, and the Grammy winner’s concerts are expected to draw massive crowds.

But Jewish advocate and politician, Sam Yebri, expressed outrage over the stadium’s decision to host West’s first public performances in L.A. in five years.

Speaking with the California Post, Yebri described the concerts as a slap in the face to L.A.’s Jewish community after the rapper made a string of antisemitic comments over the years.

“SoFi hosting a Ye concert after his years of hate-filled vitriol and Nazi-inspired music spits in the face of every Jewish person in Los Angeles,” the activist said. “Events need venues. Venues make choices. SoFi made a despicable choice. Would SoFi host a neo-Nazi rally or ISIS convention too?”

Yebri urged West to use the concerts to “apologize, heal wounds, and disavow antisemitism.”

A spokesperson for the Anti Defamation League agreed that the “Stronger” rapper should apologize.

“Ye’s apology to the Jewish people is long overdue and doesn’t automatically undo his long history of antisemitism – the antisemitic ‘Heil Hitler’ song he created, the hundreds of tweets, the swastikas and myriad Holocaust references – and all of the feelings of hurt and betrayal it caused,” the spokesperson told the outlet.

In January, West issued an apology to the Jewish and Black communities for hateful comments in a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal.

He blamed head trauma from a 2002 car accident and untreated bipolar disorder for his outbursts.

“I lost touch with reality,” the ad read. “Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst. You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to have someone who was, at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self.”

“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people,” he continued.

West added that he is “not asking for sympathy, or a free pass,” and asked for the public’s “understanding as I find my way home.”