Aussie fans of Snoop Dogg rejoiced on Tuesday when it was announced that the iconic rapper would be headlining the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne in 2025.
Snoop, who has become globally renowned for hits such as Drop It Like It’s Hot and Sensual Seduction, is set to perform to a crowd of 100,000 at the MCG on 27 September later this year.
‘It’s an absolute honour to be hitting the stage at the AFL Grand Final — it’s one of the biggest events on the Aussie calendar,’ he said of his much-anticipated gig, which has seen the likes of Katy Perry and Kiss take to the stage.
‘Can’t wait to bring the energy and celebrate with the fans.’
However, many may not remember the musician was once banned from entering Australia after he did not meet the visa character requirements.
In 2007, the 53-year-old star was preparing to perform at the MTV Australian Music Video Awards in Sydney when he was denied entry.
Aussie fans of Snoop Dogg rejoiced on Tuesday when it was announced that the iconic rapper would be headlining the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne in 2025.
Snoop was prohibited from visiting the country after he was convicted of drug and firearms offences in the US.
In April 2007, he pleaded no contest to gun and drug charges in a Los Angeles court and was sentenced to five years’ probation and 800 hours of community service.
However, Snoop’s multiple run-ins with the law started long before.
Soon after graduating high school in 1989, Snoop was arrested for possession of cocaine and a year later convicted of felony possession of drugs and possession with the intention of sale, according to The Age.
The publication reports that between the late 90s and mid 2000s Snoop was arrested a number of times, mostly for drug and firearm possession.
Thanks to Snoop’s 2007 legal dramas, Australia ultimately decided to deny him a visa and entry into the country.
The ban was lifted a year later, and the star went on to perform a number of iconic gigs across the country, including his I Wanna Thank Me tour in 2023 and his headlining performance at Big Day Out festival in 2014.
Kanye West’s (pictured) hopes of entering Australia went up in smoke in July as the American rapper’s Aussie visa was cancelled
However, it calls into question: who else has had a hard time visiting Aussie shores?
Kanye West
Kanye West’s hopes of entering Australia went up in smoke in July as the American rapper’s Aussie visa was cancelled.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed that the American rapper would be denied entry to the country after releasing a vile anti-Semitic song praising Adolf Hitler.
The track, titled Heil Hitler, was dropped by the singer on May 8 and was deemed to be ‘promoting Nazism’.
As a result, officials revised West’s ‘lower-level’ visa and came to the decision that it would be revoked.
‘He’s been coming to Australia for a long time. He’s got family here and he’s made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again,’ Burke told the ABC.
‘Once he released the Heil Hitler song, he no longer has a valid visa in Australia.
‘It wasn’t a visa for the purpose of concerts. It was a lower-level and the officials still looked at the law and said, you’re going to have a song and promote that sort of Nazism, we don’t need that in Australia.’
Floyd Mayweather Jnr (pictured) was prohibited from entering Australia in 2015 after the Immigration Department refused to grant him a visa
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Mayweather Jnr was prohibited from entering Australia in 2015 after the Immigration Department refused to grant him a visa.
An online petition was launched via change.org to stop him from visiting the country because of his history of domestic violence.
Mayweather was jailed in 2012 for an attack on his ex-girlfriend Josie Harris.
He served two of the three-month prison sentence he was handed for a hair-pulling, arm-twisting attack on his former lover, as two of their three children watched.
The petition against his possible entry, led by campaigner Angela Burrows, stated: ‘His assaults are sickening to read about.’
‘Allowing a chronic perpetrator of violence like Floyd Mayweather to visit Australia sends a terrifying message – that vicious, repeat abuse isn’t serious.’
Novak Djokovic (pictured) was deported from Melbourne on the eve of the 2022 Australian Open after breaching Australia’s COVID-19 rules
It is believed that Mayweather is still banned from Australia.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic was deported from Melbourne on the eve of the 2022 Australian Open after breaching Australia’s COVID-19 rules.
During a time when non-vaccinated people were prevented from entering Australia, the government ruled his medical exemption to the vaccine invalid and his visa was cancelled.
The Serbian tennis champion spent 11 days unsuccessfully battling to maintain his visa and the controversial court decision sparked fury among his fans.
Deportation from Australia means visitors are automatically barred from entering the country for three years.
Former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews – who was a key figure in imposing the ban – said at the time that the government should abide by the rules and not review his case.
‘It would be a slap in the face for those people in Australia who did the right thing… if all of a sudden, Novak Djokovic is allowed back into the country, simply because he is a high-ranking tennis player with many millions of dollars,’ she told the ABC.
Skepta (pictured) – real name Joseph Junior Adenuga – was banned from entering Australia after punching a man in a Melbourne nightclub in 2016
Despite this, the ruling was eventually overturned and Djokovic appeared at the beloved Aussie tennis tournament the following year.
Skepta
Skepta – real name Joseph Junior Adenuga – was initially banned from entering Australia after punching a man in a Melbourne nightclub in 2016.
The UK rapper pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury, however no conviction was reported at the time, according to BuzzFeed.
The publication claimed he was fined $2,500 and ordered to pay $10,000 to the victim.
After failing the immigration character test, Skepta’s touring company appealed the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
During the appeal, Skepta alleged that he had ‘grown as a person both emotionally and spiritually’ since the incident.
The tribunal also heard that the man who Skepta hurt in 2016 accepted an invitation to attend his concert, as well as the opportunity to meet and greet with the rapper so that Skepta could formally apologise in person.
In 2018, just two weeks before he was set to play shows across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, the ban was overturned.
