What happened during Kanye West's Shanghai concert? Fans chant for refund after delays, technical issues and heavy rain 

On Saturday, July 12, Kanye West's concert at Shanghai Stadium in China didn't turn out to be the seamless experience fans were expecting, leading to chants for refunds during the show.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ye, who arrived in Shanghai on Friday (July 11), took the stage at 8:10 pm, 40 minutes after his scheduled start time of 7:30 pm. Even after the rapper began his performance, he faced multiple technical issues and a heavy downpour that further dampened the crowd's mood.

While Kanye West was determined to deliver the show his fans expected, the crowd was unhappy with the experience. Video clips of the audience chanting "refund" in Chinese at the stadium later circulated on social media and have since gone viral, News18 reports. According to the media outlet, some attendees even claimed on X that Ye was only lip-syncing during his performance.

Following demands for a refund, the organizers of West's Shanghai concert issued a statement on social media on Monday, July 14. In the statement, the organizers apologized for the delayed start of his concert, adding:

"We deeply regret that due to weather reasons, the core visual elements and smoke effects of the stage could not be presented as standard, but for the 17th year's return journey, the YE team has insisted on giving priority to artistic integrity."

The organizers attributed Kanye's delayed arrival on stage to an emergency debugging, and they made no effort to reimburse the audience for the show.

Before his Shanghai concert, Ye held a listening party for his Bully album at Wuyuanhe Stadium in Haikou last year, in September 2024.

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Kanye West was accused of s*xual assault by his former assistant in an amended lawsuit

Kanye West at the 67th Grammys Awards (Image via Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Kanye West's Shanghai concert comes as the rapper faces fresh s*xual assault allegations from his former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta. According to News 18, Pisciotta recently amended her civil lawsuit against the rapper, which was first filed in June 2024.

In a new court filing, Pisciotta claims that Ye had r*ped her orally without her consent, while also manipulating her into compliance with false promises of career advancement. Sean Diddy Combs is also mentioned in the filing, with Pisciotta claiming that he was present at the scene of the assault, which allegedly took place during a studio session.

Ye has denied these allegations, with his spokesperson telling Page Six:

"Lauren Pisciotta’s amended complaint is the fourth version she has advanced. Each new revision contradicts the others; each is more absurd and outlandish than all previous claims combined. Does Ms. Pisciotta actually believe her confabulations? We cannot know. But this breathless new installment of fantasy fiction discredits all past, present and future testimony."

Kanye West's representative, attorney Milo Yiannopoulos, has called the new filing an "absurdity," adding that Pisciotta had intentionally chosen the rapper as part of an extortion attempt.

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News 18 reports that Lauren Pisciotta worked for Ye from 2021 to 2024, initially as an A&R representative and later as his personal assistant.

Edited by Shreya Das