Ye attended the Balenciaga womenswear show as part of Paris Fashion Week in October. Since then, he has made increasingly brazen extremist statements.
Jacopo M. Laure/Getty Images for Balenciaga
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Jacopo M. Laure/Getty Images for Balenciaga
Ye attended the Balenciaga womenswear show as part of Paris Fashion Week in October. Since then, he has made increasingly brazen extremist statements.
Jacopo M. Laure/Getty Images for Balenciaga
Appearing on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show, Ye (former rapper known as Kanye West) further highlighted a string of anti-Semitic remarks he’s made in recent months. Ye appeared on the show alongside white supremacist internet personality Nick Fuentes. The two had dinner with former President Donald Trump last week.
A few hours later, Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced that Ye’s Twitter account was pause. The move comes after the rapper reportedly posted an image of the swastika inside the Star of David on Twitter.
Ye’s remarks on Thursday’s Jones show were among his most brazen. “I think Hitler has some good points,” Ye said during the nearly three-hour interview. He then leaned towards Holocaust denialism.
“It was the moment I took off my mask when I heard Yeh speak frankly about his admiration for Hitler,” said Megan Squire, deputy director of data analytics at the Southern Poverty Law Center. She said that extremists often revolve around the topic of Nazism, often claiming their true beliefs in hidden language to avoid being barred from mainstream platforms. Squire said pushing boundaries would provide a permissive structure for other far-right voices.
The most recent string of anti-Semitic comments began in October when Ye posted “Death Con 3 against Jews.” in the tweet, since it was deleted. Since then, Ye has spoken on numerous podcasts and interview shows, repeating points and promoting his 2024 presidential run.
Ye appeared in an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson before moving to a fringe channel that specializes in extremist rhetoric. He used the opportunity to voice his anti-abortion stance and his dissatisfaction with the fashion industry. Shortly afterward, however, Vice News revealed that the show’s producers had cut references to Ye’s belief in aligning with black Hebrew Israelis.
Most recently, Ye and Fuentes appeared on right-wing podcaster Tim Poole’s show. Ye walked out after questioning Poole’s use of the word “they” to fuel Jewish conspiracy theories.
Ye’s hate speech took its toll on him. In October, Adidas terminated Ye’s contract and stripped him of his billionaire status. After Thursday’s interview with Alex Jones, a spokesperson for right-wing social media website Parlor confirmed to NPR that Ye’s previous deal to buy the platform fell through.