Over the past two months, Kanye “Ye” West, an American rapper and fashion designer, has fallen under fire for his racist remarks towards Jewish people. 

West posted on Twitter on Oct. 10, 2022, that he was going to “-go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” before going on to say that “I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also.” Twitter banned West shortly following this tweet, citing their policies against inciting violence. 

West lost his Yeezy partnership with Adidas on Oct. 25, 2022. According to BBC News, “It’s a bigger loss for Kanye, who is estimated to make $1.5 billion from his contract with the sportswear giant.” 

Two days later, West was escorted out of Skecher’s headquarters after he allegedly arrived “unannounced and uninvited,” as stated by BBC. 

Not much was heard from West until Nov. 25, when the rapper was seen dining with former President Donald Trump and far right political commentator and self-described white supremacist Nick Fuentas. 

Reporters from both sides of the political spectrum were quick to criticize former president Trump for meeting with the two extremely controversial figures. Fox News quoted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy who said, “I don’t think anybody should be spending any time with Nick Fuentes. He has no place in this Republican Party.”

Elon Musk, the new CEO of Twitter, reinstated West’s Twitter account after promising that under his control, Twitter would have more open free speech on the platform. The reinstatement of his account did not last long, as West was banned again on Dec. 1 after tweeting a picture of a swastika overlayed on the Star of David. 

Earlier that same day, West was seen with Fuentas on the Alex Jones’ podcast, Infowars, where the rapper went on a long, unhinged rant about the Holocaust and the Nazi party. 

MSNBC stated, “Instead of taking the moment to extinguish a fire that’s been causing great pain to Jews and exacerbating the generational trauma of the Holocaust, Ye emptied a tank of gasoline.”

On the podcast, West said, “I see good things about Hitler, also. Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table. Especially Hitler.” 

He then went on to say throughout the hours-long podcast that he was a Nazi, loved Hitler and the Nazi party and shared his belief that people should “stop dissing on Nazis.”

Many people have already chalked these incidents up as a manic episode or the unhinged, but otherwise harmless, ramblings of an out-of-touch musician. However, West’s statements have a profound effect on the lives of Jewish people. 

Am Echod Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in the suburbs of Chicago, was defaced in Nov. in the midst of West’s most egregious statements. Fox 32 Chicago stated, “The horrific discovery was made early Monday morning at Am Echod Cemetery on Grand Avenue. Waukegan police said red swastikas were spray-painted on at least 16 tombstones. Police said 23 other headstones were defaced.”

The cemetery is over 100 years old. Sprayed onto one of the tombstones was the phrase “Kanye was rite.” 

This is among many other antisemitic incidents that directly refer to West and his statements. 

West’s erratic and unpredictable behavior has disturbed many with his statements, as they fear he is bringing far-right fringe conspiracy theories and politics into the mainstream.