.

Australia Reconsiders Unbanning Snoop Dogg

August 26, 2008 10:50 AM ET

After initially lifting their ban of Snoop Dogg, Australia is reconsidering giving the Doggfather a visa as the threat of a looming Snoop/Ice Cube tour Down Under has resulted in public complaints. The drama started last year, when Snoop was denied an opportunity to co-host the MTV Australia VMAs because the island country refused to allow the rapper to apply for the visa. The ban was finally lifted last week by immigration officials, paving the way for Snoop to tour Australia in October, but because "of public concern and interest, the department has decided that in fact we will be undertaking a more thorough assessment of Mr. Broadus' character," an immigration official said. Although Snoop's tour may still go on, if he's allowed entry into the country he will be "counseled and given strict behavior rules to abide by." The Snoop saga strangely finds itself embroiled in a bigger government issue, as the conservative government that barred Snoop last year has since lost power to a more liberal government, which has since relaxed on the previous administration's tough immigration stance.

Related Stories:
Snoop Dogg Vs. Australia, Round 2: The Quest for Citizenship
Snoop Dogg Rolls Into Rothbury on Tricycle for Crowd-Pleasing Set
Nas, Snoop Pick Sides in Shaq/Kobe Rap Battle

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

prev
Music Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus
Stay Connected

Sign up to get Rolling Stone's daily newsletter.

Song Stories

“Baby Got Back”

Sir Mix-a-Lot | 1992

While watching a Budweiser commercial during the Super Bowl, Sir Mix-a-Lot thought the skinny female models in the ad didn’t represent reality. So he wrote this ode to ample bottoms, featuring its famous to-the-point lyric: “I like big butts and I cannot lie.” MTV banished the video, featuring shaking booties and sexually suggestive fruit, to 9 p.m. or later. “I thought my career was over,” he told Rolling Stone. “Then I called Rick Rubin, and I told him the video was banned, and he was like, 'Great!' We sold another 2 million records.”

More Song Stories entries »