Kanye West Banned From Grammys: Trevor Noah, The Game and More Celebs React

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock; Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

Kanye West Banned From Grammys: Trevor Noah, The Game and More Celebs React

Mixed feelings. After the Recording Academy banned Kanye West from performing at the 2022 Grammy Awards, celebrities weighed in with their thoughts — and they weren't all supportive of the decision. The ladies of The View devoted a portion of their "Hot Topics" segment to the 44-year-old rapper on Monday, March 21, and they disagreed about whether the Academy made the right choice. The "Famous" artist has been lashing out at ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson, via social media since they began dating in October 2021. The Chicago native also made headlines last week for targeting D.L. Hughley and Trevor Noah. Ana Navarro expressed her support for both the Grammy ban and Instagram's decision to temporarily suspend him from the platform earlier this month. "I question what's taken the social platforms so long to bar him after he's been posting threats and horrible, vile comments against so many people for such a long time," the commentator, 50, said. "Too often people who are rich, who are famous, surround themselves by an entourage who like the trappings so much that they're incapable of confronting you with the truth." [jwplayer DvX8wZw9-zhNYySv2] Navarro's cohost Sunny Hostin disagreed, saying that she was "uncomfortable" with the Academy's choice to ban him from the show, set to air on CBS Sunday, April 3. "I believe in consequence culture," she added. "I don't believe in cancel culture." Us Weekly confirmed on Sunday, March 20, that the Recording Academy had axed West's scheduled performance for the 64th edition of the awards show. An insider said that the decision was inspired by the Yeezy designer's recent Instagram activity, which included slinging racial slurs at Noah, 38. The comedian is scheduled to host the Grammys for the second year in a row. Earlier this month, the Born a Crime author discussed West's mental health during an episode of The Daily Show. “What’s weird about the situation is Kanye West has told us that he struggles with his mental health,” the political commentator said. “So I get it, you wanna have art as therapy. But here’s what’s weird that Kanye doesn’t understand. It’s like, what we’re seeing is — it makes you uncomfortable.” Noah continued: “With Kanye, we don’t know how to feel. We don’t know how to worry. I think Kanye doesn’t seem to understand that. He goes, ‘Leave me to create my art.’ Yeah, but Kanye, you told us you have problems. Now when we worry about that, you say we shouldn’t worry because it’s not [his] problem. Or it is [his] problems? Which is it?” Keep scrolling for more celeb reactions to the Grammys' decision. [podcast_block]

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock; Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

Kanye West Banned From Grammys: Trevor Noah, The Game and More Celebs React

Mixed feelings. After the Recording Academy banned Kanye West from performing at the 2022 Grammy Awards, celebrities weighed in with their thoughts — and they weren't all supportive of the decision. The ladies of The View devoted a portion of their "Hot Topics" segment to the 44-year-old rapper on Monday, March 21, and they disagreed about whether the Academy made the right choice. The "Famous" artist has been lashing out at ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson, via social media since they began dating in October 2021. The Chicago native also made headlines last week for targeting D.L. Hughley and Trevor Noah. Ana Navarro expressed her support for both the Grammy ban and Instagram's decision to temporarily suspend him from the platform earlier this month. "I question what's taken the social platforms so long to bar him after he's been posting threats and horrible, vile comments against so many people for such a long time," the commentator, 50, said. "Too often people who are rich, who are famous, surround themselves by an entourage who like the trappings so much that they're incapable of confronting you with the truth." [jwplayer DvX8wZw9-zhNYySv2] Navarro's cohost Sunny Hostin disagreed, saying that she was "uncomfortable" with the Academy's choice to ban him from the show, set to air on CBS Sunday, April 3. "I believe in consequence culture," she added. "I don't believe in cancel culture." Us Weekly confirmed on Sunday, March 20, that the Recording Academy had axed West's scheduled performance for the 64th edition of the awards show. An insider said that the decision was inspired by the Yeezy designer's recent Instagram activity, which included slinging racial slurs at Noah, 38. The comedian is scheduled to host the Grammys for the second year in a row. Earlier this month, the Born a Crime author discussed West's mental health during an episode of The Daily Show. “What’s weird about the situation is Kanye West has told us that he struggles with his mental health,” the political commentator said. “So I get it, you wanna have art as therapy. But here’s what’s weird that Kanye doesn’t understand. It’s like, what we’re seeing is — it makes you uncomfortable.” Noah continued: “With Kanye, we don’t know how to feel. We don’t know how to worry. I think Kanye doesn’t seem to understand that. He goes, ‘Leave me to create my art.’ Yeah, but Kanye, you told us you have problems. Now when we worry about that, you say we shouldn’t worry because it’s not [his] problem. Or it is [his] problems? Which is it?” Keep scrolling for more celeb reactions to the Grammys' decision. [podcast_block]

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Trevor Noah

"I said counsel Kanye not cancel Kanye," Noah tweeted on Sunday after the Academy pulled West's performance.

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The Game

"Time & time again they show us that they only want to STEAL the culture, not allow you to ever be their equals," the rapper wrote in a lengthy Instagram post defending his friend and collaborator. "The Grammys have at the last minute decided to pull @kanyewest from performing on the show as if we didn’t know it was coming. Could be because @trevornoah is hosting and there was a conversation held amongst his team & the academy that led to the decision or because Ye’s account was suspended just days ago for reasons unknown especially in a world where all the negativities of the world can be found on the same app with no repercussions or suspensions…. We’ll just say it’s all of the above & a continuous disrespect for us & all that we have brought to the table in entertainment, media & sports over the last 100 years especially."

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Sunny Hostin

"I'm very uncomfortable with banning him from performing," Hostin, 53, said on The View. "I think performance ... is an art and it's speech in many instances, and the fact that yes, he's been on social media, that's his right. It's free speech. ... Where do we draw the line?"

The New York native added that she thinks the Grammy winner has become a target because of his struggles with mental health. "Because of the stigma of mental health, I think he is being stigmatized," she said. "And bottom line is people that are mentally ill, he's been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, are much less likely to commit violence than have violence enacted upon them. I don't know yet that he is this violent person that should be shunned from society and his art taken away. I'm very uncomfortable with it."

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Ana Navarro

Navarro said she agreed with Noah's take that someone should "counsel" West, but she wondered who would actually undertake that duty. "How long is this going to go on and how long are we going to say, 'Poor Kanye, he just needs to be counseled,' when other people are being dragged through the mud?" she asked. "While he's inciting violence against Pete Davidson?"

She went on to theorize that the Academy may have been worried about how West's fans might react to his performance. "Kanye may not go and perpetrate an act of violence, but Kanye has got millions and millions of very loyal fans who get ginned up by the things that he's been posting against Pete Davidson, that he's been posting against D.L. Hughley, that he's been posting against Kim Kardashian," she said. "Whether Kanye does something or not is one issue. But he's got all these people who he influences, and once you give that guy the mic, he's gonna do with it whatever he wants."