ST. PETE, Fla. — United States Sen. Rick Scott held a press conference at The Florida Holocaust Museum on Monday morning to demand that no public funds be used to platform Ye's upcoming concerts.
Sen. Scott was be joined by U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, Chair of the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, Leo Terrell, Jewish community leaders, and state and local officials.
During the press conference, officials demanded: "that no public funds be used to platform Kanye West’s hateful, antisemitic rhetoric for concerts currently planned later this month at a taxpayer-supported venue."
Several Jewish community leaders, as well as former Gov. Charlie Crist, spoke out against the concert being held.
West, who now goes by Ye, is scheduled to perform at Raymond James Stadium on June 26 and 28.
The Tampa Sports Authority responded to claims made in the press conference in a statement saying, "We condemn antisemitism from any source. However, we also respect free speech rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, even when we disagree with that speech. In addition, no taxpayer money is being used for staging the Ye concerts. To suggest otherwise is false."
The press conference comes after Sen. Scott wrote a letter urging Tampa officials to review the Ye concert.
Tampa Bay 28 was at the event and streamed it live on the website and Facebook. The replay can be viewed below:
This is a developing story. Tampa Bay 28 will provide more details as they become available.
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