Ye Defends ‘Heartless’ Performance After Being Accused of Trolling Fans: ‘This S–t Was a Vibe’

Ye (formerly Kanye West) returned to the stage on Saturday (Oct. 24) with a show in Jakarta, Indonesia, which took place at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Halfway through the show, Yeezy moved into 808s & Heartbreak’s “Heartless” for what’s become a signature part of his performance, which finds Ye kicking off the chorus and then letting the audience sing the rest themselves a cappella, making for a standout moment in the set.

In fan captured video, West instructs the crowd, “Louder!” before having them restart the hook three times with more energy filling the stadium. A clip from the performance posted to social media went viral, and accused Ye of trolling the audience with the constant stop-and-start maneuver. A user on X shared the clip, which had “at this point bro tryna ragebait” written over it.

The Chicago native shut down the idea that he was intentionally trying to provoke the Indonesian fans. “Bro this s–t was a vibe,” he clapped back in a reply on X. “The crowd was very loud It’s called rock and roll.”

Saturday’s show marked West’s first show in Indonesia in his career. He performed a loaded 39-track setlist over the course of two hours, running through his decorated discography spanning more than two decades of hits.

According to Jakarta governor Pramono Anung, West’s concert generated about $25 million for the Indonesian city’s economy, with about half of the 60,000-capacity audience traveling in from out of the country.

“Heartless” arrived as an 808s & Heartbreak single in 2008 as Ye made his pivot into electropop, which paid dividends as the track reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The rapper — who continues to face backlash for his repeated antisemitic hate speech in recent years despite his apology in the Wall Street Journal in January — has been on the road for much of 2026, which has included stops in Mexico City, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Kazakhstan and Georgia. He’s also had spot dates in the U.S. with shows in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Tampa Bay, New Orleans and a pair of hometown shows in Chicago in September. He’ll finish the year with stateside shows in Houston, Dallas and Phoenix.

The global trek has in part been in support of his album Bully, which arrived in March and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.