More than 18,000 people are asking Pan Am Games organizers to cancel Kanye West's performance at the closing ceremony, hoping for a Canadian talent to headline the event instead.
Online petitions popped up just hours after it was confirmed that the U.S. rapper would be headlining the ceremony in Toronto on Sunday, July 26. West will be joined by fellow American rapper Pitbull and Canadian songstress Serena Ryder.
Change.org Associate Campaigns Director Kathryn Semogas said at least six petitions had been started by Thursday morning.
One petition directed at Pan Am Chair David Peterson and CEO Saad Rafi had more than 8,000 signatures by 8 a.m. By 2 p.m., another 10,000 had added their names.
"The Toronto Pan Am games have proven to be very important for Torontonians this year and have triggered a unified sense of pride in our city," petition organizer Allen Simans wrote, asking why a local artist wasn't chosen.
"It would only be just to ask a proud Torontonian (or even a Canadian for that matter) in the music industry to perform, such as Drake, Walk off the Earth, Feist, Metric, Shania Twain, deadmau5, Crystal Castles, Zeds Dead, The Weeknd, Peaches, K'naan, and many many more!"
Rafi defended the decision in an interview with The Canadian Press, saying: "major international-calibre events have international artists.
"Let's not forget, these are the Pan American Games, which include the Americas and the Caribbean. It's highly appropriate to have artists from those countries of origin," he said.
Those who signed the petition called West a "completely inappropriate" choice for the Canadian event, while others called the artist "arrogant" and "disrespectful."
At least two other online petitions have been started with similar sentiments.
"He does not represent Canadian values," a Markham resident wrote on one of the petitions, which had 340 supporters as of noon.
"Kanye is an embarrassment," a Barrie resident wrote on another, adding her name to a petition signed by 760 people.
The petitioners' preference for a local headliner was echoed by Toronto Mayor John Tory on Wednesday, who said "I wish it'd been a Canadian."
On Wednesday, Tory let slip that he believed West was a Canadian artist, calling him a "proud product of our music industry."
To make up for the flub, Tory posted a video to Twitter on Thursday, writing, "Yeezus, can't believe I didn't know Kim Kardashian's husband wasn't Canadian!"
Set to West's "Stronger," a baseball-cap-clad Tory puts on sunglasses and earbuds, and enters St. George Subway Station. Seated on the train, the mayor is seen flipping through a magazine featuring West's wife.
While Tory’s parody made the rounds online, many West fans took to social media to show their support for the singer.
"Some people just don't know what's good for them," one fan wrote.
"Starting a petition: 'Toronto doesn't want people who don't want Kanye West to perform at the Pan-Am Games'. Let's see which gets more signs," another posted.
Actor Jack Black stood up for West during an appearance on "Conan" on Wednesday night, saying that it's become "the popular thing to pile on Kanye."
Black told host Conan O'Brien that he's "had it up to here" with the negative comments.
"It feels like everyone is really mean to Kanye West," Black said. "I don't agree that he's not talented...He actually is really talented."
Black went on to call West's 2013 album "Yeezus" the "best album out there."
West's performance will be part of an hours-long conclusion to the Pan Am Games, which will include other musical acts and will honour the athletes and partners involved in the competition.
The ceremony will conclude with the handing of a baton to representatives from Lima, Peru, the host city of the 2019 Pan Am Games. The Pan Am flame will also be extinguished at the foot of the CN Tower.
The closing ceremony will be held at the Rogers Centre, temporarily renamed the "Pan Am Dome," with events starting at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online, and start at $90.
