A Montreal theater has canceled a concert by a controversial rapper that B’nai Brith Canada described as having a “history of spewing antisemitic remarks, including comparing himself to Hitler.”
French rapper Freeze Corleone was to perform at the Olympic Theatre on December 4. The theater told B’nai Brith on Monday that it is in the process of cancelling the scheduled appearance.
Upon learning about the scheduled Montreal appearance by Corleone, B’nai Brith took what it termed “comprehensive and immediate action," alerting the Olympia Theatre and media organizations to the rapper’s notorious past, which is said included “denying the Holocaust and using antisemitic tropes about Jewish wealth and influence,” which caused his former label Universal Music Group to severe ties.
B’nai Brith noted that the rapper’s remarks caused such an uproar that France’s Minister of the Interior publicly repudiated his “unspeakable antisemitism.”
The theater's owner Patrick Levy told B’nai Brith that the show had been removed from the venue’s website and he pledged to examine their contract to see how they could cancel the performance.
“We are pleased that Olympia Theatre’s management disavowed Corleone’s antisemitism in recent correspondence,” said Marvin Rotrand, B’nai Brith Canada’s National Director for its League of Human Rights. “The next step is for the venue’s management to use every tool at its disposal to ensure he does not perform this December.”
“Corleone’s rhetoric goes well beyond the bounds of artistic expression,” said B’nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn. “The Holocaust resulted in the deaths of six million Jews. Corleone’s denial is not only inaccurate but dangerous. His hatred must find no harbour in any Canadian city, including Montreal.”