Philissa Cramer
Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, flooded the social network X with antisemitic comments early Friday morning, in a repeat of the spree that cost him his fashion deals and public esteem two years ago.
In dozens of tweets to his 32 million followers, Ye praised Hitler, called himself a Nazi and said antisemitism was “just some bulls–t Jewish people made up to protect their bulls–t.”
He also emphasized that he was unrepentant and in control of his faculties. “AMY JEWISH PERSON THAT DOES BUSINESS WITH ME NEEDS TO KNOW I DONT LIKE OR TRUST ANY JEWISH PERSON AMD THIS IS COMPLETELY SOBER WITH NO HENNESY,” he wrote in all caps, adding, “IM NEVER APOLOGIZING FOR MY JEWISH COMMENTS.”
The spree was reminiscent of what happened in October 2022, when Ye made a string of antisemitic comments on TV, Twitter and Instagram. He was soon booted off the social media platforms and was invited back to Twitter the next month, as Elon Musk took over the platform, but was once again suspended. He was reinstated again in 2023 as Musk rebranded Twitter as X. Ye also dined with Donald Trump and Nick Fuentes, the white nationalist and Holocaust denier, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate during this period.
Ye lost a number of brand partnerships and professional opportunities as a result of his antisemitic comments in 2022. Most notably, Adidas ended its $2 billion-per-year partnership with him after facing heavy backlash.
Under Musk’s ownership, X has drawn criticism for liberalizing its rules so much that neo-Nazis and other extremists have flocked to the platform. Antisemitism watchdogs spoke of a “Kanye effect” after 2022 in which white supremacists used his words in their own antisemitic acts.
“ELON THEY KICKED ME OFF OF INSTAGRAM SO HAPPY YOU BOUGHT X,” Ye tweeted early in his spree.
Some of Ye’s posts were temporarily deleted or otherwise made invisible to viewers, though it was not clear by whom or for what reason. Soon, many of the messages reappeared — including ones explicitly praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
“I’m going to normalize talking about hitler,” he wrote. A minute later, he added, “Hitler was soooo fresh.”
Ye this week announced that he had been diagnosed with autism, following a rocky appearance at the Grammys on Sunday. He had previously blamed a bipolar disorder diagnosis for his antisemitic comments, which people who have worked with him say he has also made in person.
“If I lost everything again tonight was worth it I can die after this,” he wrote in all caps. Then he added, referring to a popular video game, “I tour for the money Id rather be playing Last of Us part one and two which was made by Jewish people Good Job thank you.”
