By: Dana Hathaway

Editorial Editor

In recent months, 22-time Grammy winner Kanye West faced mounting criticism after making multiple anti-Semitic remarks in interviews and on social media. The rapper initially received backlash for his appearance on Oct. 3 at Paris Fashion Week, where his shirt was emblazoned with the phrase “White Lives Matter” and just five days later, West tweeted that he wanted to “go death (sic) con 3 on Jewish people.” The phrase shocked fans and celebrities alike, and online opposition poured in denouncing the “Bound 2” artist. He lost sponsorships alongside much of his public support.

West made a dramatic entrance back into social media with a “Shalom” tweet on Nov. 20 on Twitter. Two days later, news outlets reported that Kanye met with former president Donald Trump and Nick Fuentes — a repeated Holocaust denier, self-proclaimed incel, and white supremacist — at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for dinner. The trio immediately received backlash from a variety of prominent GOP members, including Mike Pence and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who stated, “There is no room in the Republican Party for antisemitism or white supremacy.” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy also denounced Fuentes, stating, “I don’t think anybody, though, should have a meeting with Nick Fuentes and his views are nowhere within the Republican party or within this country itself.”

A week after the Mar-a-Lago dinner, alt-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones hosted Ye on his InfoWars talk show. There, West praised Adolf Hitler, insisting, “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.” He continued, “[Nazis] did good things too; I don’t like the word ‘evil’ next to Nazis…I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.” Towards the end of the hours-long interview, Jones said that he “hates when people call [him] a Nazi” when West interrupted with “I am.” A shocked Jones asked Ye what he was, to which West explicitly responded with “I am a Nazi.” 

Twitter removed West’s account less than 24 hours after he spoke with Jones following Ye posting a swastika merged with a Star of David.

Kanye fans should unequivocally cut off the artist. His hate speech fuels centuries of anti-Semitism which dramatically increased after Adolf Hitler murdered six million Jews. Despite being only 0.3% of the population, Jews are the target of 58% of religious-based hate crimes. Spotify and Apple Music cannot remove Kanye’s music; it’s censorship. But listeners can stop listening. On Spotify: go to the artist profile, press the three dots, and select “don’t play this artist.” On Apple Music, dislike his songs. The music is a byproduct of the artist. This artist is, in his own words, a Nazi. 

(Sources: Billboard, New York Times, NBC News)