Trans juggler launches scathing attack on Kanye West after show is cancelled to make way for gospel hymn session
US rapper Kanye West. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
A trans woman has claimed that her performance art show in Paris was cancelled to make way for a religious service organised by Kanye West.
Phia Ménard was due to perform her “Maison Mere” (Mother Ship) show at the Bouffes du Nord theatre on Sunday, March 1, but said it was cancelled with just one day’s notice to facilitate West.
West hosted one of his famous “Sunday Service” gospel hymn sessions at the venue on the day Ménard was due to perform, she said.
Trans performer Phia Ménard says Kanye West is an ‘imposter’ and accuses the theatre of lying.
Phia Ménar took to Facebook where she lambasted the rapper as an “imposter” and accused the theatre of lying. She said the venue told her they were cancelling her show for “technical reasons” but then booked Kanye West.
In her Facebook post, Ménard said the theatre cancelled her show “so they could cash in on a religious ceremony and the money of the Donald Trump-supporting rapper”.
“You have to question the meaning of this act,” she wrote.
I am an artist, a trans woman, the director of a company, and I refuse to accept this denial and contempt.
She questioned how the theatre would respond to the damage done to those who were planning to attend her performance.
“I am an artist, a trans woman, the director of a company, and I refuse to accept this denial and contempt,” she added.
“I can’t help but think and associate myself with the powerful words of Virginie Despentes in her gallery, ‘From now on we stand up and get out.'”
The theatre said they cancelled Ménard’s show due to ‘technical incompatibility’.
The venue told AFP that Ménard’s show was cancelled because of the “technical incompatibility of the two events”.
“The 98 people who had bought tickets were contacted and most came to her show the night before while the rest were reimbursed,” a spokesperson added.
The theatre said its “support for creativity, even at its most demanding, remains total” following the incident.
West was in Paris to showcase the new collection for his Yeezy label and was joined by his wife Kim Kardashian West, who attended his “Sunday Service” gospel hymn session.
