Kanye West’s Twitter, Instagram restricted after alleged anti-Semitic posts
- Billionaire musician Kanye West made social media posts widely criticised as anti-Semitic
- West, who has been open about his struggles with bipolar disorder, is no stranger to controversy
Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts were restricted over the weekend, with the social media platforms saying they removed the rapper’s posts after online users condemned them as anti-Semitic.
He was first locked out of his Instagram by Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc on Friday after which he took to Twitter, where he tweeted on Saturday for the first time in two years.
West’s first post on Twitter since 2020 was a blurry photo of the rapper and Meta Platforms founder Mark Zuckerberg singing karaoke. The tweet said: “Look at this Mark How you gone kick me off instagram”.
West then tweeted: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda”.
That post, in which he said he wasn’t anti-Semitic, has been removed by Twitter due to a violation of its policies. His account was also locked, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed on Sunday.
The step by Twitter Inc to lock the rapper’s account was noteworthy because billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he would buy Twitter and calls himself a free speech absolutist, had welcomed West’s return to the platform and replied to a post by the rapper tweeting: “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!”
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West has also previously made erratic online posts. Earlier this year, he was suspended from Instagram for 24 hours after he directed racial slurs at comedian Trevor Noah.
Before he took to Twitter early on Saturday, West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, had his Instagram account suspended after a since-removed post in which he invoked anti-Semitic tropes, accusing a musician of being controlled by “the Jewish people”.
The company said on Saturday temporary restrictions on posting, commenting and messaging were imposed on West’s Instagram account.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) hit out at West for having “fomented hatred of Jews”.
“Kanye West should figure out how to make a point without using anti-Semitism,” the organisation said.
No stranger to controversy, West, who has been open about his struggles with bipolar disorder, was previously banned from posting on Instagram for 24 hours in March, amid an acrimonious divorce from reality TV star Kim Kardashian.
Earlier last week, German sportswear giant Adidas said it was reconsidering its partnership with West after he reportedly became disgruntled with how the brand was marketing his products.
Last month, West and retail brand Gap also announced an end to a partnership.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and Bloomberg
