Kanye West Might Be Banned From Australia For This Surprising Reason
Following the Novak Djokovic scandal, Australia has now set the records straight on which celebrities could be banned from the country. In case you missed it, the Serbian tennis star has recently been deported from Melbourne after failing to comply with Australia's Covid-19 entry rules, which states that foreigners must show proof of vaccination or a valid medical exemption.
Djokovic boarded a plane to Australia on January 16, as he was scheduled to compete in the Melbourne Open tournament. However, the athlete failed to show proof of vaccination, causing the Australian government to deport him the next day, as reported by The Guardian. Djokovic is also banned from entering the country for the next three years.
"The rules are very clear," Australia's Minister of Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said about Djokovic's ban (via RN Breakfast). "People can enter if they're vaccinated or if they have a medical exemption. He didn't have that ... Prior infection is not a valid medical exemption." As more celebrities plan to travel to the country soon, the Australian government has now reportedly sent out a warning to yet another controversial figure: Kanye West.
Kanye West once called vaccines 'the mark of the beast'
Months after the release of "Donda" (and ahead of the "Donda 2" drop), Kanye West is now ready to go on tour, both in the U.S. and abroad. Per News.com.au, the rapper is currently planning to perform in Australia in March ... but he might not be able to, unless he gets fully vaccinated. "The rules are you have to be fully vaccinated," PM Scott Morrison said in a press conference.
"[The rules] apply to everybody, as people have seen most recently," Morrison continued, hinting at Novak Djokovic's case. "It doesn't matter who you are, they are the rules. Follow the rules, you can come. You don't follow the rules, you can't." That applies to West too, who reportedly isn't fully vaccinated at this time.
"I only got one of the shots, so I'm half-vaccinated," the rapper told "Drink Champs" in November 2021 (via Daily Mail). It's unclear why the rapper decided not to get a second vaccine shot, or if he's gotten it in the time since that interview. However, in the past, West even called the Covid-19 vaccine "the mark of the beast," adding that he's "extremely cautious" about it (via Forbes). "They want to put chips inside of us," he added during the same 2020 interview. "They want to do all kinds of things, to make it where we can't cross the gates of heaven."