American rapper Kanye West's trip to Belgium has once again been in the news after he talked about being confronted by armed police while walking in Wijnegem, in the Antwerp province.
West - who now goes by Ye - explained the story on the podcast Drink Champs, which came out on 5 November.
"I had a gun pulled on me about three weeks ago when I was in Belgium," Ye explains. "I had the full mask on. A black, full mask (covering not just his mouth and nose, but his whole face). Suddenly a cop came up to me with his gun out. I was like: well, I guess this is it."
Masked Kanye West visits Berlin https://t.co/mLJANbKgVK pic.twitter.com/x71ZfOd3PW
— Cityreport24 (@CityReport) September 1, 2021
The incident, which has been confirmed by Police zone Minos to, among others, Het Nieuwsblad, took place during West's September visit. West made headlines after reports that he had been spotted near Antwerp, and had potentially purchased an apartment in the Kanaal complex in Wijnegem, a former jenever distillery now converted into Belgium's largest private art gallery.
"It was a really hot summer day then," explained Commissioner Johan Wonnink of police zone Minos. "Wearing a mask was by no means mandatory in the open air, but our dog handler encountered two masked men at the lock complex of Wijnegem throughout the day."
Related News
- Kanye West welcomed to Belgium with satirical tourism board rap
- Reports: Kanye West spotted near Antwerp
- Kanye West spotted in Antwerp
According to reports, the officer approached West and his bodyguard, asking them to remove their masks, which they did not immediately do as they do not speak Dutch, and likely did not understand what the officer was saying.
"Due to the communication problem and because he was accompanied by a rather imposing bodyguard, the colleague drew the weapon," Wonnink added, stressing that the gun remained pointed at a 45-degree angle to the ground, De Morgen reports.
The incident quickly resolved itself after Kanye said his name. “Our colleague may not have recognised the man's face, but of course he did recognise his name. At that time, we had not yet become aware of the fact that Kanye West was staying in our region,” said Wonnink.
