It is no surprise that controversy has a very strong attachment to Kanye West. Hot on the heels of his controversial Glastonbury set, (hilarious subtitles included), broadcast regulators in the U.K have revealed that it received no more than 44 complaints regarding the performance, most notably regarding the swearing that is prevalent throughout much of Kanye’s material. The regulators have noted that they will investigate the complaints individually and determine whether there is grounds for a full investigation into a possible breach of broadcasting code.
There does not appear to be much cause for concern however, as the set was broadcast after the broadcasting watershed in the U.K, which dictates when adult material can be broadcast. The BBC itself stated that “clear notices” were given and that strong language would be a part of the performance.
The controversy surrounding Mr. West’s appearance began way before he finally took to the stage, with a petition amassing in excess of 130000 signatures attempting to undermine his status as a headline act for the festival. Despite the public backlash, there was much support garnered for Kanye, with none other than living rock royalty Dave Grohl noting that there would be “nothing more punk rock” than Kanye gracing the stage at one of the worlds biggest festivals.
Censorship is no stranger to Kanye, with recent performances at the Billboard Awards being reduced to a bleeped and incoherent mess, with phrases such as “my leather black jeans on” seemingly not being suitable for public broadcast, much to Kanye’s confusion and disappointment.
Towering over the crowd in a crane while performing Touch the Sky sounds pretty punk rock to me. Complaining over swearing during a music festival? That is about as far from punk rock as you could possibly be.