Snoop Dogg has been barred from entering Australia after failing a character test, Australia's government said on Thursday.

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was told his visa would be cancelled after he pleaded no contest to gun and drug charges in the United States earlier this month.

"He doesn't seem the sort of bloke we want in this country," Andrews told local radio.

While Snoop Dog is perhaps a less sympathetic character than the psychotherapist who wants to visit his children, this is another datapoint in the encroaching international information sharing and travel control regime that appears to present significant threat to people's right to travel and associate freely. Snoop Dog may be a pain in the ass but he isn't a terrorist and he isn't gunna overstay his visa and take a job under the table. There are fundamental human rights being ignored here.

Australia bars Snoop Dogg | Entertainment | Reuters