Kanye West Was Called Out By a Longtime Collaborator After His Anti-Semitic Rant
Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West has been known for his public outbursts for years. But rather than his target being George W. Bush or Taylor Swift, West took aim at Jewish people in October 2022. His anti-Semitic rant drew ire from many people in the entertainment industry, including one of his longtime collaborators.
Kanye Went on an anti-Semitic rant in October 2022
West sparked outrage in October 2022 when he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his Yeezy fashion show at Paris Fashion Week. He upset people including his friend Diddy. Ye posted his text conversations with Diddy on Instagram, but West was soon stopped from posting on the platform after an anti-Semitic post.
“This ain’t a game,” Ye told Diddy. “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. I told you this was war. Now gone get you some business.”
After his account was disabled from posting, West shared a photo of him with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg on Twitter and questioned why he was kicked off Zuckerberg’s platform. “Look at this Mark. How you gone kick me off Instagram?” Ye wrote.
Ye followed it up with another anti-Semitic post that was quickly removed by Twitter. “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going [DEFCON] 3 on Jewish people,” he said. “The funny thing is I actually can’t be anti-Semitic because black people are actually Jews also.”
“You guys have toyed with me and tried to blackball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” the rapper added.
Kanye’s longtime producer Mike Dean called him out
Mike Dean, who has been mixing Kanye’s songs since his 2004 debut album The College Dropout, seemingly aired out his thoughts on the situation on Twitter. Rather than mention the content of Ye’s messages, Dean appeared to focus on the act of sharing his private conversations publicly.
“Posting DM and texts from folks is the single most thirsty thin[g] a person can do,” Dean said. When someone called out Dean for apparently coming for Kanye, he clarified that he was talking about the act of posting screenshots in general. “I’m not just talking about Ye,” Dean said. “A lot of screenshot posts of private convos.”
Other celebrities have called him out
West, meanwhile, has drawn criticism from around the entertainment world for his anti-Semitic comments. Actor Jamie Lee Curtis, for example, got choked up in an appearance on the Today show because of Ye’s messages.
“I woke up and burst into tears,” Curtis said honestly. “DEFCON 3 on Jewish people? What are you doing? It’s bad enough that fascism is on the rise around the world, but on Twitter? … As if Jewish people haven’t had it hard enough?”
“I woke up and I thought [about] my grandparents. It’s just abhorrent,” she added. “I hope he gets help. I hope his children get help — from him.”
Singer Ariana Grande assented, sharing a video of Curtis’ words on her Instagram Stories.
Comedian Sarah Silverman, who is Jewish like Curtis, also spoke up on Twitter. “Kanye threatened the Jews yesterday on twitter and it’s not even trending,” she said. “Why do mostly only Jews speak up against Jewish hate? The silence is so loud.”
EGOT winner John Legend, meanwhile, tweeted his own thoughts. “Weird how all these ‘free, independent thinkers’ always land at the same old anti-Blackness and anti-Semitism,” he said.
