Ye shares his true colours once again

Kanye West is at it again. In his most recent antisemitic X rant, the rapper praised Hitler, called himself a Nazi and said antisemitism was “just some bulls*t Jewish people made up to protect their bulls*t”.

The rapper found himself in hot water two years ago when he went on a similar tirade, which cost him his fashion deals and his reputation.

West, who now goes by Ye, also emphasised that he was in control of his faculties, writing, “any Jewish person that does business with me needs to know I don’t like or trust any Jewish person and this is completely sober with no Hennesy,” he wrote in all caps. “I’m never apologising 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 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 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.

This time around, Ye has once again faced criticism, most notably from his wife, Bianca Censori.

The Australian model took to X to explain that while she respects that she and her husband may see things differently, she “personally cannot align with those antisemitic views.” She explained that she believes in kindness and inclusivity but that she still supports her husband, “even in your worst moments”.

Shortly after, Censori tweeted asking for prayers for her husband.

“Lord, I lift up my husband to You with love & concern. Soften his heart, guide his words, and fill him with wisdom and kindness. Protect him from trouble & lead him toward understanding & respect for all people. Despite our differences, I love him unconditionally. Strengthen our bond & help me be a source of patience & encouragement. I trust in Your grace to work in his heart,” she wrote. Both tweets were finished with an Israeli flag and the words “G-d bless Israel”.

Friends star David Schwimmer also spoke out pleading with Elon Musk to remove Kanye from the platform.

“We can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile… but we CAN stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk,” the Jewish actor wrote on Instagram. “Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on your platform, X. That’s twice as many people than the number of Jews in existence. His sick hate speech results in REAL LIFE violence against Jews. I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that he identifies as a Nazi (which implies he wants to exterminate ALL marginalized communities including his own) or the fact that there is not sufficient OUTRAGE to remove and ban him from all social media at this point. Silence is complicity.”

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 normalise 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.

Seemingly trying to distance herself once again from her husband’s comments, Censori took to X following the release of Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami thanking President Trump for his “unwavering support in securing the release”, writing “may all those still held captive soon return safely to their families”. Censori again used the Israeli flag emoji and finished the tweet with three hashtags: #StandWithIsrael #HopeForPeace and #GodblessIsrael

It remains to be seen what further fallout Ye will experience from this latest rant.

With JTA