Kanye West is experiencing a backlash after making a series of antisemitic remarks during interviews and on social media.
The rapper, who has been involved in various controversies over the years, has been dropped by both Adidas and Balenciaga over the “hateful and dangerous” comments. A number of fellow celebrities have also condemned his behaviour.
West’s latest controversy began during Paris Fashion Week, during which he and right-wing commentator Candace Owens wore “White Lives Matter” t-shirts.
Following backlash online, West – who has legally changed his name to Ye – began sharing antisemitic conspiracy theories on Instagram, including suggesting that rapper Diddy was being controlled by Jewish people.
When his account was suspended, West tweeted that he was going to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE”.
He added: “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because Black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda [sic].” His Twitter account was also suspended.
At the time, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez commented: “There is absolutely no room in this country or world for antisemitism… We must reject this [rubbish emoji] wherever we see it.”
Lizzo and John Legend were also among the earlier celebrities to call out West, with Legend tweeting: “Weird how all these ‘free, independent thinkers’ always land at the same old anti blackness and anti semitism.”
West stood by his comments, adding to them by claiming that he “doesn’t believe” in the term antisemitism.
Later in the month, the rapper appeared on the Drink Champs podcast, where he continued to share conspiracy theories.
West claimed that George Floyd, who died at the hands of a Minnesota police officer, actually had taken the drug Fentanyl and that a police officer’s knee “wasn’t even on his neck like that”. In response, the mother of Floyd’s daughter sued Kanye West for $250m.
Elsewhere in the interview, West shared a number of antisemitic conspiracy theories and dog whistles, and claimed that he’d been “blocked” by the “Jewish media”.
The episode was later deleted, with host N.O.R.E apologising and claiming that the most offensive comments were not meant to have made the final edit.
West then appeared on Piers Morgan’s TalkTV show on Wednesday (19 October) only to call the presenter a “Karen” when he was challenged on his antisemitic comments.
During the interview, Morgan asked West if he regretted tweeting his “death con 3” comments.
“No, absolutely not,” he responded. “I fought fire with fire. I’m not here to get hosed down.” However, he added that he was “sorry for the people that I hurt” and the “confusion that I caused”.
In response to West’s podcast comments, many public figures began to speak out against his actions and wider cases of antisemitism.
Friends star David Schwimmer posted on Instagram: “Whether or not Kanye West is mentally ill, there’s no question he is a bigot. His hate speech calls for violence against Jews. If you interpret his words any other way and defend him, guess what? You are racist.”
West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016 and has spoken openly about living with the condition.
