Ye isn’t backing down after facing backlash and being restricted from his Twitter and Instagram accounts for his antisemitic remarks.
The rapper and fashion designer formerly known as Kanye West made appearances on “Cuomo” and “Piers Morgan Uncensored” this week to address a tweet he sent Oct. 8, in which he said he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent reference to the U.S. military readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.
In the same tweet, which has since been removed by Twitter, he said: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
During his Monday appearance on NewsNation’s “Cuomo,” hosted by former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, Ye doubled down on his previous comments, echoing popular antisemitic talking points about Jewish people controlling the entertainment industry and media.
“This is not hate speech; this is the truth,” Ye said.
West is no stranger to making controversial remarks throughout his career. The rapper, who has bipolar disorder, is known to go on public rants, be it about his ex-wife Kim Kardashian dating Pete Davidson, saying slavery “sounds like a choice” or falsely claiming that George Floyd died from fentanyl rather than “cardiopulmonary arrest,” complicated by “restraint and neck compression” while he was being subdued by police, as the Hennepin County medical examiner’s office ruled in June 2020.
The rapper was locked out of his Twitter and Instagram accounts due to statements he made earlier this month. Spokespeople for Twitter and Instagram said Ye posted messages that violated their policies. His comments have been widely condemned by experts as antisemitic: American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch last week dubbed Ye’s words “a clear and present danger to every Jewish person.”
Ye flip-flopped his stance on his previous comments in his recent interviews, at one point defending his “death con 3” tweet to Cuomo (“It’s like a modern-day slavery, and I’m calling it out. It didn’t mean I wish any harm on my fellow Jewish people”).
He later told Morgan in an interview set to air in full on Friday that he does not regret his antisemitic remarks. “I fought fire with fire,” said Ye, acknowledging the “racist” nature of his comments.
But Ye also told the British talk-show host that he apologizes for the “hurt and confusion” caused by his tweet. “Hurt people hurt people, and I was hurt,” he said.
