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

Tyler, The Creator says he is not allowed to enter the UK for “three to five years” because of lyrics he wrote in 2009.

The rapper tweeted: “That is why the shows were cancelled.”

Tyler, The Creator, 24, had been due to play the Reading and Leeds festivals this weekend.

He previously said he had been forced to cancel four gigs because of unspecified “circumstances”.

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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.”

Tyler, The Creator has always attracted controversy.

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

The rapper’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…”

Tyler, The Creator 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.