Kanye West locked out of Twitter and Instagram for antisemitic posts

American rapper Ye, previously known as Kanye West, has been restricted from his Instagram and Twitter account after posting multiple antisemitic comments on his social media. This controversy followed the recent uproar among organisations, fans and celebrities when Ye released a 'White Lives Matter' shirt as part of his YZY fashion show in Paris last week.

After fellow rapper Diddy (real name Sean Combs) came out with a statement against Ye's t-shirt design, stating that he "didn't rock with it" and people should not "play with [Black Lives Matter]", Ye responded on Friday by posting a string of texts between him and the artist where Ye accuses him of being controlled by Jewish people.

Within these screenshots, he can be seen texting Diddy that he is going to "use [Diddy] to show the Jewish people that told [him] to call me that no one can threaten or influence me." Ye was banned from Instagram later that day, and the text screenshots were deleted off of his account.

Ye responded to his Instagram suspension by taking his anger to Twitter. On Sunday morning, the rapper tweeted that he would go "death con. 3 on Jewish people", referring to a high state of alert for the U.S. military.

"You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda," he wrote.

Twitter released a statement in which it was explained that Ye's account was locked for violating multiple Twitter policies. The rapper's accounts being locked means that they are still active, but he cannot post on them for an undisclosed amount of time.

Ye's statements against Jewish people perpetuate multiple hateful stereotypes, and have caused an uproar online, resulting in a plethora of organisations and celebrities speaking up against his actions.

In a statement released yesterday by the Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance, the organisation stated that Ye's words sustain "stereotypes that have been the basis for discrimination and violence against Jews for thousands of years".

"Words like this tear at the fabric of the Black-Jewish relationship," the statement continues. "The Black and Jewish communities must stand together through incidents like this to make clear that trafficking in hateful stereotypes is unacceptable- and that the words of one entertainer do not reflect the views of an entire community."

Ye’s recent statements about the Jewish community are hurtful, offensive, and wrong. They perpetuate stereotypes that have been the basis for discrimination and violence against Jews for thousands of years. Words like this tear at the fabric of the Black-Jewish relationship. pic.twitter.com/1H5R0iEDJ0

— Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance (@BJEAlliance) October 9, 2022

Countless celebrities also spoke out against West including Jamie Lee Curtis, who took to Twitter and appeared as a guest on the Today Show on Monday to talk about her stance on the rapper. The actress condemned Ye's words as "just abhorrent" and discussed on social media how his words "hurt and incite violence". Curtis' tweet points out that just last week it was Yom Kippur which the holiest day in Judaism, and "words matter".

Other celebrities that have since condemned West, include comedian Sarah Silverman, Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff, celebrated voice actor John DiMaggio and political figures such as New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Many fans have taken to social media to express their distaste for West's words, while others defend him with the argument that he is mentally ill. However, this potentially perpetuates a harmful idea that mentally ill people are more likely to state racist comments or be prone to inciting violence, which is false.

West has not come out with any additional public statements since being locked out of his accounts.