CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses antisemitism and reports on antisemitic remarks. Additionally, there are links that could take readers to pages containing sensitive imagery and depictions of the Holocaust. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
Kanye West: Hitler apologist, rapper, and fashion designer. This has been the headline for days now. Kanye’s name has been a popular one throughout social media for years, with 18.4 million followers on Instagram. His name and fame have been trending again, but not for a good reason. Recently, Kanye West has made several antisemitic remarks, including openly supporting Hitler. So, what’s the deal with Kanye? Let’s dive in.
See more: The Truth Finally Revealed: Who Killed Hitler
A Brief History of Kanye West, Hitler Apologist To Many
Kanye Omari West, or Ye as he’s now known, was born in Atlanta but raised in Chicago. He first gained some spotlight when he was a producer at Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s. Kanye began his solo career shortly after and released his debut album, The College Dropout, in 2004. The album was very successful, and he opened his own record label, GOOD Music, later that year.
Since then, Kanye has explored different styles of music and has become one of the most successful rappers in history. Kanye has sold over 160 million records worldwide, won 22 Grammy Awards, and was nominated for 75 more Grammy Awards. Six of his albums were featured on Rolling Stone’s 2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, and they labeled him among the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.
As a fashion designer, he’s collaborated with several fashion lines like Nike, Louis Vuitton, Gap, and Adidas.
But this fame and these accolades mean nothing when you’re publicly making the remarks that Kanye has in the past week.
Kanye West on Hitler
Kanye is an incredibly successful person, but he’s also experienced a good amount of scandals, and for good reason. Kanye West is very outspoken about his political and social views on social media.
Recently, he’s said a lot of antisemitic statements that have made his collaborations with several fashion designers, like Adidas and Balenciaga, get cut off. So, what did Kanye West say about Hitler that’s getting him so much attention right now? It’s not pretty.
Kanye West and Hitler Comments on Infowars
Kanye West has recently been associated with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Kanye was featured in an interview with Jones in which he praised Hitler. In this interview, many believe it was made clear that Kanye West admires Hitler very openly.
He said things like, “Hitler has a lot of redeeming qualities,” and “There’s a lot of things that I love about Hitler.” And a more controversial Kanye West Hitler comment was, “The Holocaust is not what happened, look at the facts.”
To deny the Holocaust is to also deny the sacrifices of the 16 million some-odd service members who fought, and thousands of whom died, trying to bring an end to Hitler’s tyranny during WWII.
You can view some of Ye’s statements and clips from the interview in the videos below.
WARNING: These videos contain antisemitic phrases and Holocaust-denying rhetoric.
Kanye 'Ye' West: “I like Hitler. … I’m not trying to be shocking, I like Hitler. The Holocaust is not what happened, let’s look at the facts of that and Hitler has a lot of redeeming qualities.” pic.twitter.com/UwCu2ZJfid
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 1, 2022
Twitter Bans
This interview wasn’t the only place to see Kanye West admiring Hitler. Just recently, Ye was (once again) banned from Twitter by Elon Musk. Musk made this decision based on a recent Tweet from Kanye, who Tweeted an image of a swastika inside of the Star of David.
For those unaware, the Star of David is a symbol known to be associated with Judaism and Jewish identity. The swastika is known for its association with the Nazis and symbolizes antisemitism.
Kanye was also banned from Twitter just a few months earlier due to very similar reasons (i.e., hate speech). When Musk purchased Twitter, he chose to unban some individuals, including Kanye. But within hours of having access to Twitter again, it was revoked from him.
Why Is Kanye Like This?
On paper, Kanye seems incredibly successful and used to seem like a great guy. His career skyrocketed from the beginning with music people across the world loved, but as social media grew to be more and more popular, Kanye West started using it as an outlet for his controversial takes.
Many people theorize that Kanye’s outlandish behavior is due to his bipolar disorder. Kim Kardashian, Kanye’s ex-wife, has been quoted saying that Kanye has bipolar disorder, and she asked fans for “compassion and empathy . . . so that we can get through this.”
Bipolar disorder is characterized by intense and extreme emotional states. These mood swings can also include risky behaviors. Some see the recent Kanye-West-Hitler-apologist statements to be evidence of his bipolar disorder.
On the other side of the spectrum, many people are also stating that mental health is no excuse for behaviors like this. Mental health problems do not make an individual an antisemite. These people are saying that maybe Kanye’s mental issues are just exaggerating beliefs he already had in the first place.
The Jewish Community’s Reaction to Kanye West’s Hitler Comments
Regardless of what reasons Kanye has behind his antisemitic comments and behavior, his actions are not okay, and they never should be okay. Even if these comments are a joke or a product of his mental health, his words are still harmful to the Jewish community.
His words are also fuel for other antisemites, so what’s the future looking like for the Jewish community?
Impacts on the Jewish Community
Because of Kanye, the Jewish community is at risk. Just in October, a group of antisemites hung a banner over a Los Angeles freeway; the banner stated, “Kanye is right about the Jews.”
In an attempt to educate Kanye West about the Holocaust, the LA Holocaust Museum invited Kanye for a tour, which he declined. After that, they received hundreds of threatening and hateful messages.
The CEO of the Holocaust Museum LA, Beth Kean, stated, “There’s always been threats, there’s always been antisemitism. But it feels like an epidemic right now. And the spread of hate and lies is just happening at a lightning speed, and Kanye really opened the floodgates a couple of weeks ago with his comments.” Kanye’s actions are just adding fuel to the fire of antisemitism.
The Kanye West Subreddit
Though Kanye West, Hitler apologist to many, is openly in support of Hitler, the Kanye West subreddit is not. What was once an online community dedicated to showing love for the superstar rapper is now a place for Holocaust remembrance.
One of the top-voted posts on the subreddit shows footage of heavy machinery moving bodies of deceased Jews at a concentration camp. Many other posts are dedicated to showing the realities of a world run by Nazis and antisemites.
This move for the /r/Kanye subreddit is incredible. Since 2009, the users of this subreddit have used it as a place to defend Kanye, discuss Kanye’s music, his life, and share memes. However, since Kanye’s openness about his support for Hitler, the posts defending Kanye’s actions have become almost nonexistent. This subreddit is now flooded with facts about the Holocaust, telling the stories of those victims who lost their lives and families to it.
Kanye West’s Hitler comments have given him more attention in the spotlight. This attention is enlightening to everyone, as it’s showing Kanye’s true character and his antisemitism. Though Kanye may be struggling intensely with his mental health, his antisemitic actions and words should not excuse his behavior. So, what does the future look like for Kanye? And more importantly, what does the future look like for the Jewish community who are already being negatively impacted by his statements?
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