Kanye West Controversy

“I’m going death con 3 on Jewish people.” About a month ago, Ye West tweeted this antisemitic message to his 31.4 million followers. West’s account, on both Twitter and Instagram, was then suspended for 30 days. West’s net worth also dropped from $2 billion to $400 million. Balenciaga, Gap, Peloton, TJ Maxx, Adidas, Talent Agency CAA, MRC Entertainment Studio, Vogue, LeBron James’ “The Shop”, JP Morgan, Chase, and other businesses all cut ties West. Aaron Donald and Jaylen Brown both left Donda Sports, which is West’s sports agency. After Adidas dropped West, he said, “I know what it feels like to have a knee on my neck right now”

West’s tweet has encouraged many to express their antisemitism. A “Kanye is right about the Jews” banner hung on a bridge over a highway in Los Angeles. GDL (Goyim Defense League), a white supremacist group, stood behind it, doing the Nazi salute. “Kanye is right” posters could be spotted on the Arizona State University Campus. These are just a few of the countless examples of antisemitism West raised.

Additionally, this isn’t West’s first debut with antisemitism. Six people who had worked with West in the past or seen him in professional settings said they heard him note conspiracy theories about Jews and praise Hitler to NBC news. Four people told CNN that West originally wanted to name his 2018 album “Hitler” which was later released as “Ye.” A business executive who worked for West said to CNN, “He would praise Hitler by saying how incredible it was that he was able to accumulate so much power and would talk about all the great things he and the Nazi Party achieved for the German people.” A source who was at a TMZ interview with West said that he mentioned Hitler favorably multiple times, showing his rich history of antisemitism.

While West is being dragged through the headlines right now, it is important this isn’t similar to other topics. Often things blow up on social media and then cool down. People stop talking about it as much and it all starts to return to normal. Society cannot let this happen. West must be held accountable and must continue to be held accountable. People cannot let Ye West’s empire grow back to its size previous to his antisemitic tweet: “I’m going death con 3 on Jewish people.”