By Kelly Smyth
Kanye ‘Ye’ West is infamous in the world of music. From interrupting Taylor Swift’s VMA acceptance speech to running for President of the United States in 2020, Ye has never been afraid of the spotlight. However, in more recent years Ye has become synonymous with misogyny, antisemitism, and Nazi sympathies. If you have found yourself asking whether you should dance to global hits like ‘Golddigger’ or ‘Flashing Lights’- you are not alone.
Ye’s most recent controversy has had many fans finally leave the artist’s side. On the 7th of February this year, Ye took to X, formerly Twitter, with a barrage of antisemitic tweets- going as far as saying “I’m a Nazi … I love Hitler”. Additionally, a t-shirt depicting a swastika was listed for sale on his fashion brand Yeezy’s website under the code HH-01, which has been assumed to stand for ‘Heil Hitler’. This would not be the first time Ye expressed antisemitic views- with the rapper finding himself under fire for tweeting “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE” in October of 2022. Ye also shared private messages between him and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, in which he claimed the producer was under the control of Jewish people.
Diddy, also known as ‘Puff Daddy’, is another controversial artist- with over 30 civil lawsuits against him as well as federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. As Diddy awaits his trial, Ye has shown support for his collaborator. During the February 7th X rant, Ye expressed “My support of Puff is completely selfish. I need to find whoever been trying to out black moguls”.
Throughout this outrageous rant, Ye also expressed derogatory views on women, saying: “I have dominion over my wife. This ain’t no woke as feminist s—“. Accusations of Ye’s misogyny towards his wife, Bianca Censori, have been widespread across the internet, with many accusing Ye of controlling her rather bare approach to fashion. This includes Censori accompanying Ye in a near-invisible dress to this year’s GRAMMYS red carpet. Some fans claim Ye commanded her to remove her fur coat to reveal the sheer dress- although Ye himself claimed it was his wife’s “personal expression”.
He has since been banned from X and dropped by his talent agency and Adidas- we need to ask ourselves is this really enough? While some may argue this behaviour is a result of Ye’s documented struggle with mental health issues and mental health diagnosis, others may say this does not make his behaviour inadmissible. Ye’s bipolar disorder diagnosis has been previously used by ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, to defend a series of erratic Instagram posts he made in 2020. However, in more recent times, Ye claims he was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and instead has autism, having this to say about it: “Autism takes you to a ‘Rain Man’ thing where you’re like, I’m gonna wear this Trump hat because I just like Trump in general, and then when people tell you to not do it you just get on that one point”.
Whether Ye has autism, bipolar disorder, or both- this does not excuse him from his hateful misogynistic and antisemitic views. Like all celebrities, Ye has a large and influential platform which can be used to spread these hateful ideologies. Ye has even acknowledged his role in spreading a “message”, saying on Jimmy Kimmel Live: “I wouldn’t even say that I’m a rapper. I’d say I’m more of a messenger”.
In hindsight, one could say the warning signs were already there. From the moment he said “I’ma let you finish, but..” on the MTV VMAs stage, it has been clear he has very little regard for how his words may impact others. Additionally, his attempt to run for President in 2020 shows he does have political intent with some of the ideologies he spreads. In his failed attempt to win the White House, Ye asserted anti-vaccine views, claiming “They want to put chips inside of us, they want to do all kinds of things to make it where we can’t cross the gates of heaven”. Ye has also expressed his anti-abortion stance in his past presidential run, saying he was “pro-life because I’m following the word of the Bible”. Whether it is the words of a mentally unwell man or a famous narcissist, the removal of Ye’s platform is needed. While freedom of speech is essential in any democracy, the incitement of hatred is not. According to Anti-Defamation League (ADL), over 30 antisemitic incidents directly referenced Ye between October of 2022 and December of 2023. In 2023, a white supremacist group known as Groypers launched a campaign on college campuses called “Ye is right, change my mind”. The damage Ye has already done is enough to justify deplatforming the rapper, regardless of the motivations for his hate speech. So next time you stream Graduation, consider how you may be contributing to his platform for hate speech.