Tyler, The Creator: I'm banned from entering the UK

Tyler, The Creator claims he has been banned from the UK.

The US rapper says he is not allowed to enter the country for "three to five years" because of lyrics he wrote in 2009.

"That is why the shows were cancelled," he tweeted. He had been due to play the Reading and Leeds festivals this weekend.

The 24-year-old previously said he had been forced to cancel four gigs because of unspecified "circumstances".

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Coming to the UK is a privilege, and we expect those who come here to respect our shared values.

"The Home Secretary has the power to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good or if their exclusion is justified on public policy grounds."

The co-founder of hip-hop collective Odd Future has always attracted controversy.

Protesters regularly try to stop his gigs because they say some of his lyrics are homophobic and offensive.

The star's manager Christian Clancy said: "Tyler has been banned from entering the UK for somewhere between three to five years per a letter from the secretary of state for the home department of the United Kingdom.

"The letter specifically cites lyrics he wrote six to seven years ago for his albums Bastard and Goblin - the type of lyrics he hasn't written since…

"Highlights from the letter include that his work encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality and fosters hatred with views that seek to provoke others to terrorist acts."

The LA-born rapper has had other problems touring in 2015.

In July he tweeted to say that a campaign group in Australia had successfully stopped him from performing.

However his own company denied that he had been banned from entering the country and said the visa application was still open.

"The department for immigration has raised issues with the visa application but it has not been refused and Frontier will update ticket holders as soon as more information comes to hand."

In the blog his manager admitted that his songs have been offensive in the past.

"I'm not defending his old lyrics. To be honest they make me cringe, but I stand beside him because of who he actually is."

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