Odd Future Banned Entry To New Zealand For Being A ‘Threat’
Odd Future has been refused entry to New Zealand after the immigration authorities decided on Thursday that they pose a threat to public order. The rap collective was due to perform at Eminem’s Rapture festival in Auckland on Saturday.
“Odd Future has been deemed a potential threat to public order and the public interest for several reasons. Including incidents at past performances in which they have incited violence. In one instance, a police officer was hospitalised following a riot incited by Odd Future,” the Immigration New Zealand said in a statement.
The incident the Immigration was referring to was in 2011 at the group’s autograph-signing session at a comic shop in Boston in the U.S. A police officer was hurt and taken to the hospital, while a 13-year-old girl was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
The ban came days after Stop Demand, an anti-sexual violence advocacy group, asked Auckland councillors not to allow the rappers to perform at the hip-hop festival, citing the “rape and murder fantasy lyrics” in their songs.
The organisation also cited an incident in Sydney in 2013, in which rap leader Tyler the Creator abused a young Australian campaigner while onstage.
Tyler the Creator, meanwhile, expressed his sentiment over the immigration ban on Twitter.
OF IS BANNED FROM NEW ZEALAND, AGAIN. THEY SAID WE WERE 'TERRORIST THREATS AND BAD FOR THE SOCIETY' OR WHATEVER. SICK. THEY ARE ANTI GOLF
— Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) February 13, 2014
I LOVE NZ THO — Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) February 13, 2014
Odd Future, short for Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All or OFWGKTA, was announced as the replacement for Kendrick Lamar, who dropped out of the Auckland leg of the Rapture festival due to “unavoidable scheduling conflict.”