Kanye West has been barred from performing at the Grammy Awards due to his “concerning online behavior,” a rep for the artist confirmed

His team received a phone call on Saturday, informing him he had been pulled from the line-up of performers for the show.

Insiders say the Awards show is “unfortunately” taking this position “due to what they deem to be concerning online behavior.” West’s recent ban from Instagram didn’t help the situation.

The decision was made partially because Trevor Noah is hosting the night’s festivities, and there is worry about the two men’s interaction during the show. West responded to Noah after addressing the rapper’s split from ex-wife Kim Kardashian. “I’ll be honest with you — what I see from the situation is a woman who wants to live her life without being harassed by an ex-boyfriend or an ex-husband or an ex-anything,” Noah said.

The Grammy drama spread to other artists, including rapper The Game, who defended West on his social media. 

“Time & time again they show us that they only want to STEAL the culture, not allow you to ever be their equals. In a more than obvious move for reasons of minuscule actions…. The Grammys have at the last minute decided to pull [West] from performing on the show as if we didn’t know it was coming,” Game wrote. “Could be because [Noah] 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.”

The Grammy performers’ first round was announced on Tuesday morning: nominees BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, Brandi Carlile and Brothers Osborne.

Taking place live from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, the 64th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on  April 3 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.

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