Kanye West's Nazi Shirt, Antisemitic Remarks, and Insensitivity to Black Issues Further Separates Him From the 'Chi-Town' Rapper He Started As

Kanye West/Shutterstock

In 2023, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, apologized for making antisemitic comments, which garnered negative media attention, and led to his loss of several business partnerships, especially his relationship with Adidas. However, the Chicago rapper recently retracted his apology, while making more troubling remarks and creating additional controversy between himself and America's Jewish population.

Ye took to social media once again last week, stating on the X platform, "I love Hitler" and "I'm a Nazi." The "Heartless" rapper had another lengthy rant on X, stating, "I'm never apologizing for my Jewish comments. I can say whatever the f--- I wanna say forever. Where's my f------ apology for freezing my accounts." He followed that by saying "Jewish people don't run me no more." In one post, he wrote: "Some of my best friends are Jewish and I don't trust any of them," followed by a laughing crying emoji. In another, he posted "I'm buying two Maybachs tomorrow," adding "Ima make the Jewish person who's selling it to me read all these tweets and I bet you you see me whipping Maybachs."

The photo Kanye posted on X alongside his Hitler statement

West continued on X with more insults, stating, "I'm racist stereotypes (sic) exist for a reason and they all be true," he wrote in another post. "I don't even know what the f--- anti Semitic means. It's just some bull---- Jewish people made up to protect their bull----," the rapper said in yet another post.

The Grammy Award-winning rapper continued his rant by saying, "All white people are racist" and "Jewish people actually hate white people and use black people...I love when Jewish people come to me and say they can't work with me anymore its my fav." His remarks about 'racist whites' are confusing, considering Ye married two white women—his first wife, Kim Kardashian, who he shares children with, and his current wife, Bianca Sensori.  

The infamous Adolf Hitler/Shutterstock

According to The New York Times, Ye aired a commercial in some markets during the Super Bowl that promoted his t-shirts decorated with Hitler's Swastika symbol. As reported by France24, Immediately after the ad aired, Variety reported the website had a range of West's fashionwear available, but it changed a short time later and began displaying only a single item -- a white T-shirt with a large black swastika on the front, with a $20 price tag.

Kanye's Swastika shirt, which is no longer available

After Variety had researched the ad booking process, it explained that the 30-second spot had gone through the usual approval channels, which included a look at the website. Nothing objectionable was flagged. But by Tuesday the site, which was underpinned by e-commerce firm Shopify, was offline.

After facing criticism for Ye's website still being operational, Shopify issued the following statement and subsequently dismantled the site: "All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms, so we removed them from Shopify."

The rapper's repeated antics are labeled as an attempt to seek attention. Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, said, "Let's call Ye's hate-filled public rant for what it really is: a sad attempt for attention that uses Jews as a scapegoat. But unfortunately, it does get attention because Kanye has a far-reaching platform on which to spread his antisemitism and hate. Words matter. And as we've seen too many times before, hateful rhetoric can prompt real-world consequences."

Ye's X account is now suspended. The Grammy-Award-winning rapper has been dropped by his booking agent, Daniel McCartney of 33 & West. Daniel confirmed the split on his Instagram story, stating, "Effective immediately, I'm no longer representing YE (F/K/A Kanye West) due to his harmful and hateful remarks that myself nor 33 & West can stand for."

Kanye West's career, personal life, and ideologies have drastically evolved since he entered the music scene with his debut album, The College Dropout, in 2004. Kanye marketed himself as an artist who had a well-developed social and Black consciousness—consistently highlighted the profound influence of his late mother, Donda West, who was the department chair for the English, Communications, Media, and Theater departments at Chicago State University. He also credited his father, a former member of the Black Panther Party, for shaping his worldview while he grew up in the South Side of Chicago, a predominately Black area.

Ye and his late mother, Donda West

Early in his career, the "All Falls Down" rapper displayed public outcry in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Kanye boldly declared that then-President George Bush didn't care about Black people at a benefit concert for the victims (some felt the President showed a low effort of assistance to the Katrina victims, who were mainly Black).

Ye's debut album was semi-conscious rap, incorporating several themes regarding the "Black American" experience. Some tracks, such as "I'll Fly Away," "Jesus Walks," and "Spaceship," exhibit influences from the Black church and Negro spiritual sounds. "Spaceship" explores the challenging experiences Ye had as a Black male navigating the workforce while striving to break into the music industry. The chorus expresses his frustration: "I've been working this grave shift and I ain't made shit. I wish I could buy a spaceship and fly past the sky." The song continues with his commentary on discrimination, stating, "They take me to the back and pat me, askin' me about some khakis, but let some black people walk in, I bet they show off their token blacky."

Kanye as the mascot for "The College Dropout" Photo/IMDb

The Chicago rapper's song "Never Let Me Down" spoke of racial injustice his mother faced while being arrested as a child in the South during the political lunch counter sit-ins. The song explained, "I get down for my grandfather who took my mama, made her sit in that seat where white folks ain't want us to eat. At the tender age of six, she was arrested for the sit-ins, And with that in my blood, I was born to be different."

IMDb

After releasing his first three albums where he marketed himself as an advocate for Black culture and social awareness, his views on his culture and even dating preferences began to change.

Despite having the support of the Black community and collaborating closely with key figures in the music industry, like Lyor Cohen, who is Jewish, and helped launch his career, the rapper has made several socially irresponsible statements regarding Blacks and Jewish people. In 2018, he suggested that slavery was a "choice" for Blacks. Additionally, he claimed that George Floyd died from a drug overdose in 2020, which contradicts the widely circulated video showing that Floyd's death resulted from a police officer kneeling on his neck for nine minutes.

Kanye has also endorsed President Donald Trump during both his first and current terms, and he has been photographed wearing a "Make America Great Again" (M.A.G.A.) hat. After the 2024 election, he derogated about former US Vice President, Kamala Harris, saying, "I used to want to f–k Kamala until she lost. I don’t f–k losers anymore."

In recent days, Ye addressed Lyor Cohen on Instagram in response to Lyor's public letter to the rapper regarding his latests antisemitic remarks. The multi-Grammy Award-winning artist clapped back, accusing Lyor of promoting Black death; he stated, "LEE OR let me call you by your incorrect name also You and your whole industry have promoted and got paid off songs where black people glorify killing each other But my t shirt is the worst thing ever," West posted. He continued, "You start by apologizing and taking accountability for the massive promotion of black death that you’ve got paid off of for years. Also you too broke to speak to me in the first place. And you know what Irv said to you before he passed and since he not here. I’ll say it Suuuuck Myyyy D*ck.”

The rapper admitted to being bipolar and receiving psychiatric care in 2016. He shared this information with David Letterman. However, Ye's ongoing behavior has caused some of his original fans, particularly in the Black community, as well as fellow celebrities and members of the Jewish community, to disconnect from his artistry and products.

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