Ye (né Kanye West) is one of the most highly-decorated rappers with almost 50 million monthly listeners. However, his recent anti-semitic spiral has reinvigorated a culture of violence against the Jewish community that threatens to cause serious harm.
We recognize that sharing Ye’s hateful messages gives a platform to anti-semitism, but we also believe that allowing it to fly under the radar can be incredibly dangerous. Therefore, we have compiled a list of Ye’s hateful behavior in an effort to discourage ongoing support for Ye.
October 6, 2022
In an unaired segment of an interview with Tucker Carlson, Ye compared Black people “judging each other on how white we could talk” to “a Jewish person judging another Jewish person on how good they danced.”
In the same interview, Ye said, “I prefer my kids knew Hanukkah than Kwanzaa. At least it will come with some financial engineering.” It is likely that he is referring to the long-established antisemitic trope that Jewish people are greedy and good with money.
October 7, 2022
Ye shares a screenshot of a message from Sean “Diddy” Combs in which Combs criticized Ye for promoting the White Lives Matter movement, and Ye responded, “Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
The American Jewish Committee posts that Ye’s comments perpetuate “tropes like greed and control.” Ye is restricted on Instagram.
October 9, 2022
Ye tweets, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” The term “death con” is a misspelling of defcon, a U.S. military scale that indicates threat level.
October 22, 2022
An antisemitic neo-Nazi group hangs a banner reading “Kanye was right” over a crowded LA freeway. They stand behind it holding their arms in a “Heil Hitler” Nazi salute.
November 22, 2022
Ye invites white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes to a private dinner with Donald Trump.
December 1, 2022
In an interview with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Ye says “I like Hitler… I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.” He adds, “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler."
After the show, Ye tweets a photo of a swastika inside the Star of David. He is suspended from Twitter.
As consumers, we have the power to deplatform Ye. When we stream his music, we put money in his pocket and elevate his influence in pop culture, allowing him to continue spreading hate. Worse, we send the message to our peers: “I am okay with this. I am willing to excuse anti-semitism and Nazi sympathy.”
History shows that when we all turn a blind eye to violent anti-semitism, atrocities occur. Supporting Ye’s career can put the Jewish community – our friends, family, and classmates – at serious risk. So please, stop listening to Kanye West.