Travis Scott has lately been hyping up the apparently-impending release of his new LP Utopia, which will be his first album since his 2018 blockbuster Astroworld and since his disastrous 2021 Astroworld festival, where a crowd crush killed 10 people. Part of that rollout was supposed to be a concert in front of the Pyramids in Egypt, which was scheduled to go down 7/28. But now it appears that Scott’s show won’t happen, as Egypt’s state-affiliated Musicians Syndicate has refused to grant permits.

Egypt Today reports that the Musicians Syndicate cites a few different reasons for deny permits to the Travis Scott show. The Syndicate, which issues licenses for concerts, cites “the safety and protection of the audience,” which makes sense. But the Syndicate also cites “peculiar rituals performed by the star during his performance, contradicting our authentic societal values and traditions.” Egypt Today speculates that this cancellation could have something to do with online rumors about Scott’s affiliation with Freemasonry.

In a statement on behalf of the Musicians Syndicate, Dr. Mohamed Abdullah says:

Regarding the concert scheduled to be held on 28th July at the Pyramids area in Giza by American rapper Travis Scott, the Musicians Syndicate, as the entity responsible for issuing licenses for music and singing concerts in Egypt, in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture represented by the Censorship Authority for Artistic Works and the Ministry of Labor, emphasizes the necessity of considering security aspects and obtaining approvals from the relevant authorities as a top priority when organizing concerts. This is to ensure the safety and protection of the audience…

While the Musicians Syndicate has welcomed various art forms and concerts in recent months, it has set conditions and regulations to safeguard the customs and traditions inherited by the Egyptian people…

As the Musicians Syndicate is part of the fabric of our beloved country, it works towards its stability and security and rejects any tampering with the societal values, customs, and traditions of Egypt and the Arab world. After examining social media opinions and feedback, as well as the news circulating on search engines and social media platforms, which included authenticated images and information about peculiar rituals performed by the star during his performance, contradicting our authentic societal values and traditions, the Syndicate’s president and board of directors have decided to cancel the license issued for hosting this type of concert, which goes against the cultural identity of the Egyptian people.

This seems substantively similar to the Satanic-panic rumors that surrounded Travis Scott after the Astroworld festival, and it’s truly strange to see a government body talking about stuff that’s “circulating on search engines and social media platforms.”

UPDATE: In a statement, a rep for Live Nation claims that the Travis Scott show will happen as planned: “There have been no changes to Travis Scott’s show in Egypt; any reports to the contrary are false.”