Kanye West, also known as Ye. Image by Getty Images

By Mira Fox November 1, 2022

The news cycle cannot get off of Kanye West. The rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye, made antisemitic posts on Instagram and Twitter in early October, setting off a landslide of revelations.

Since then, it feels like each new day has brought a new story about West’s antisemitic statements. Podcast and talk show hosts invited him onto their shows to talk about the initial incident on social media, and ended up platforming the musician’s ranting, which has reiterated his antisemitism as well as racist statements and condemnations of figures such as George Floyd. 

Some have blamed West’s antisemitic rants on his bipolar diagnosis. But his antisemitic beliefs are nothing new even as West has repeatedly defended himself against criticism by attempting to position himself as a brave teller of truth.

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Jewish connections (2013)

During an interview on New York City’s Hip Hop and R&B radio station Power 105.1 FM, West made a remark about Jewish connections.

“Man, let me tell you about George Bush and oil money and Obama and no money. People want to say Obama can’t make these moves or he’s not executing,” West said on air. “That’s because he ain’t got those connections.  Black people don’t have the same level of connections as Jewish people. Black people don’t have the same connection as oil people.”

The ADL denounced the statement as “classic antisemitism.”

In Camera interview (October 2015)

In an interview on YouTube, West said that he loves Jews, while also expressing his belief in antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish affinity for money. Though the interview was, on its surface, philosemitic, the rapper’s statements employed dangerous stereotypes.

“It’s always that secret thing. I’ll find out somebody, like a Black dude will be super good with money,” Kanye said, near the end of the interview. “He’ll be like well, ‘Don’t tell anyone but I’m actually half Jewish.’”

“That’s a compliment, that is not antisemitic!” he said. “I love Jews.”

He went on to reference beliefs about Jewish control and secrets.

“I look at, as a culture, the way that they communicate and share information,” West said. “It’s about information, it’s about sharing information.”

‘Hitler’ album (2018)

West’s former employees and collaborators recently said that West wanted to give his 2018 album, which was released with the title “Ye,” the title “Hitler” instead.

A business executive who worked with West said the rapper had read “Mein Kampf” and was an outspoken admirer of Hitler particularly for his skill in propaganda. The executive also said that West  frequently had employees and associates sign NDAs so they would not reveal his antisemitic and pro-Nazi rants.

TMZ interview (2018)

In a now-infamous interview with tabloid site TMZ in 2018, West declared that slavery was “a choice,” a comment for which he was widely criticized.

A former TMZ employee, Van Lathan Jr., recently revealed that West had made positive comments about Hitler during the interview, which were edited out and did not air.

“He said something like, ‘I love Hitler, I love Nazis.’ Something to that effect when he was there. And they took it out of the interview for whatever reason,” Lathan said.

‘White Lives Matter’ shirt (Oct. 3, 2022)

West wore a shirt that read “White Lives Matter” to Paris fashion week. The catchphrase, which gained particularly widespread attention during the Black Lives Matters protests of 2020, has long been associated with white supremacist ideology, which promotes hatred and fear of Jews as well as people of color.

Diddy texts (Oct. 7)

West posted screenshots from a text conversation with the rapper Sean Combs, also known as Diddy. In the exchange, Combs criticized West for the “White Lives Matter” shirt; West responded by accusing Combs of being controlled by Jews.

“Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me,” West wrote in the screenshot of the conversation, which he posted to Instagram. He captioned the post “Jesus is Jew.”

‘Death con 3’ (Oct. 8)

Instagram removed West’s posts of the text conversation with Combs and his account was locked, so the rapper took to Twitter. West tweeted that he wanted to go “death con 3” on “THE JEWISH PEOPLE,” adding that “you guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone who opposes your agenda.”

“The funny thing is I actually can’t be anti-Semitic because black people are actually Jew also,“ he wrote in the same tweet.

The phrase “death con” seems to be a reference to U.S. defense protocol, DEFCON; it’s unclear whether the misspelling was meaningful or a typo. Twitter removed the post and briefly locked West’s account.

It was, however, soon unlocked and West posted another quote implying the Jews invented cancel culture.

Tucker Carlson (Oct. 11)

Vice published leaked clips from the outtakes of an Oct. 7 Tucker Carlson interview in which West endorsed numerous overtly antisemitic beliefs, said he believes Black people are the real Jews, and, as a bonus, sprinkled in some frankly odd statements about Jews dancing.

West’s many edited comments included remarks about wanting his children to learn about Hanukkah in school so they would learn “financial engineering,” a reference to stereotypes and conspiracies about Jewish greed and financial control. (He also said he believed fake children had been planted in his home.)

The leaked video also made it clear that some of West’s statements that did air on the show were veiled antisemitic accusations, including one about Jared Kushner negotiating the Abraham Accords “to make money” for himself.

“I think that’s what they’re about. I don’t think that they have the ability to make anything on their own. I think they were born into money,” West said. The reference to “they” seemed to reference the wealthy Trump family and its generational wealth at the time the video aired, but with the additional context of the leaked clips, it’s clear that this referred to an antisemitic conspiracy about Jewish control.

‘Uninterrupted The Shop’ (Oct. 11)

YouTube talk show “Uninterrupted The Shop,” produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, interviewed West after his outbursts. Carter told The Hollywood Reporter that the rapper used the show to “reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes.”

The producers decided not to air the show so as not to give Ye’s rhetoric a platform. “Hate speech should never have an audience,” Carter said.

‘Drink Champs’ podcast (Oct. 15)

West appeared on the “Drink Champs” podcast, hosted by rapper N.O.R.E. and D.J. EFN. On the podcast, West repeatedly blamed “Jewish Zionists” for his problems, which included his issues with ex-wife Kim Kardashian and the bad press coverage he received over his antisemitic tweets and other statements. (He also repeated a claim that he cannot be antisemitic because, as the “blood of Christ,” he is, himself, Jewish.)

West was particularly focused on the idea that Jews control and take advantage of Black people, and called out executive Dov Charney of Los Angeles apparel for refusing to sell his “White Lives Matter” T-shirt. He also criticized famous Jews including Ralph Lauren and Jared Kushner.

He also rejected an invitation to tour the Holocaust Museum Los Angeles, saying “I want you to visit Planned Parenthood, that’s our Holocaust Museum.”

The podcast was removed from YouTube and most other platforms after it was widely criticized for platforming hate speech.

Chris Cuomo (Oct. 18)

In a 20-minute segment on Chris Cuomo’s NewsNation show, West doubled down on his antisemitic statements, and reiterated his belief that all Black people are Jews, in part to deny any antisemitism on his own part.

“You’re saying it’s antisemitic, but I don’t believe in that term,” he said. “One thing is, Black people are also Jew. I classify as Jew also, so I actually can’t be an antisemite. So the term is actually, uh, it’s not factual.”

West also blamed his bad publicity on the “Jewish underground media mafia.”

“Jewish people own Black voice,” West said. “I’m coming from a place of love and a place of we’re not going to be owned by the Jewish media anymore.”

As Cuomo attempted to cut off the antisemitic ranting, West spoke over him, saying “la la la la” to drown out the news host. “Some of my best friends are Jewish and I’m also Jew,” he said.

Piers Morgan (Oct. 19)

West went on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” where Morgan, like all the podcast and TV hosts before him, attempted to elicit an apology from West.

West did say he regretted the “death con” post, but said that he was “absolutely not sorry.” He then made continued antisemitic statements, and implied that Jewish people stole Jewishness from Black people.

“I am a person that is classified as Black, I classify myself as Jew. I want to prove that first of all I am Jew also,” West said. “Do your research on it. We have got our culture ripped from us.”

He also blamed his separation from his ex-wife Kim Kardashian in part of “Zionist media handlers surrounding her.”

Lex Friedman podcast (Oct. 24)

In an attempt to elicit remorse from Kanye, Jewish podcaster Lex Friedman, an M.I.T. professor who is best known for interviewing controversial figures including Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson had West on his podcast.

Unsurprisingly, he failed where everyone else had. West used the time to blame Jews for a “Holocaust” against Black people and said that the phrase “Jewish media” was redundant. He also blamed a Jewish doctor and a Jewish personal trainer for revealing his medical issues to the media.

Friedman attempted to point out the danger in making broad statements against Jews, but West refused to rescind or apologize, asking instead, “Where’s our apology?”

Paparazzi conspiracy (Oct. 28)

West told paparazzi that a Jewish doctor “misdiagnosed” his mental illness, and suggested  that the doctor was trying to either control and confuse him, or kill him, with the medication he prescribed. (West told the paparazzi that he could not specify the doctor’s race, before immediately specifying the doctor was Jewish.)

“If I was on medication right now, then one pill could’ve been swapped out and it would be Michael Jackson and Prince all over again,” West said. “Because I didn’t take the medication, I am able to speak to you guys clear of thought and transparently.” His reference to the other Black pop artists was presumably due to their death from overdosing on prescription medication.

Then, West showed a spreadsheet on his phone that he claimed to be a list of media executives that demonstrated near-total Jewish media control.

When West was asked or his thoughts on recent antisemitic incidents around the country that referenced his statements, including antisemitic hate group the Goyim Defense League posting a sign reading “Kanye is right about the Jews,” on the 405 freeway in LA, West denied responsibility.

“I have no association to any hate group,” West said as he closed his remarks in prayer. “If any hate happens upon any Jewish person, it is not associated,” he said as he gestured to himself, “because I am demanding that everyone walk in love.”

‘Hidden powers’ (Oct. 29)

After West regained access to his Instagram account, he deleted copious previous posts, until there were only three, one of which called out Ari Emanuel, CEO of media agency Endeavor, presumably because Emanuel had made an earlier statement encouraging businesses to cut ties with West.

Then West made another post, with white text against a black background. “While I’m still on Mark Zuckerberg’s platform,” he began, “let’s see the contracts.” This seemeds to be a reference to his previous allegations that Jewish executives are taking advantage of Black people.

“The ‘unknown powers’ are trying to destroy my life off of a tweet,” West wrote in the caption, apparently referencing his allegations that Jews control the media and business worlds. “So does this prove that my so-called suspicion was true?”

‘Business’ people (Oct. 30)

In a thinly veiled post on Instagram, West complained about the closure of his private, non-accredited, Christian school, Donda Academy.

In a graphic post featuring a picture of Emmett Till’s lynched body, paired with a picture of Ari Emanuel, West called out both Ari and his brother Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago. In a lengthy caption, the rapper outlined numerous conspiracies about the control that “‘business’ people” have over the world, including that they caused George Floyd’s mother to sue him.

He repeatedly put the word “business” in quotes, implying that it was code for something else: Jews.

“You tried to destroy my life after all the money I’ve made for ‘business’ people,” he wrote. “And now eeeeveryone knows how much power you ‘Business’ people actually have.”

Parler (Oct. 31)

West posted a since-deleted screengrab of a text conversation with someone named Russell with the initials “RS,” since identified as Russell Simmons, to his Instagram; the post caused Instagram to lock West’s account for 30 days. West then reposted the conversation to alternative social media site Parler, which the rapper has announced he intends to buy.

In the posted conversation, Russell encouraged the rapper to calm down and “fight white supremacy while getting out the frustrations that blacks have with their Jewish brothers in a digestible way.”

West declined the advice, saying “I gotta get the Jewish business people to make their contracts fair. Or die trying.”

After moving the post to Parler, West continued to make several more antisemitic posts, including two posts about custody lawyer Bob Cohen and a post complaining about feeling betrayed by other Black rappers posting Jessica Seinfeld’s statement of support for Jews.

Compliments to Kyrie Irving, rage for Scooter Braun, others (Nov. 3)

West returned to Twitter with a flurry of tweets, first expressing his support for basketball player Kyrie Irving, who recently came under fire for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory — and refusing to apologize. Then West repeated his assertions that he cannot be antisemitic because he believes Black people are Jews, and went after his personal trainer, Harley Samuel Pasternak, and music producer Scooter Braun.

His anger toward Pasternak centered in part around a text exchange, which West posted. Pasternak asked West for calm dialogue and threatened to put West back on heavy psychiatric medication. West said Pasternak admitted “to knowing the truth of our origin but then later dismissing the facts within the same text chain,” referring to West’s claims that he cannot be antisemitic because he is Jewish.

West also tweeted about his frustration with fellow Black public figures such as Amar’e Stoudemire — who is Jewish — and Shaquille O’Neal for making statements against antisemitism, implying that they only made these statements because Jews forced them to.

“They make us attack each other,” West tweeted. “Even our brothers who know who we truly are.”

‘Shalom’ (Nov. 20)

After Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, it was only a matter of time before West’s access to his account was reinstated. First, West tweeted, “testing testing” to check whether he could tweet again. Then, he simply tweeted “Shalom : )” a few hours later.

Is it antisemitic to tweet a Hebrew greeting? Of course not. But it’s clear that West is thumbing his nose at Jews by using the Hebrew word to announce his return to the platform. West blamed Jews for kicking him off of the social media site in the first place, endorsing the false antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jews control the media and thus were able to control his access to Twitter.

While this tweet might not be harmful in itself, it indicates West’s intention to continue using his Twitter account to talk about Jews. Since he has been clear that his beliefs about Jews are antisemitic and dangerously conspiratorial, his “shalom” — even though he included a smiley face — seems distinctly threatening.

Nick Fuentes (Nov. 23)

West was seen walking through the airport in Florida, en route to Mar-a-Lago, with white supremacist Nick Fuentes. The pair were en route to meeting with Trump, in part so West could invite Trump to run in 2024 alongside the rapper, who recently said he planned to run for president.

In addition to the airport meeting, West tweeted a screenshot of a text conversation involving Fuentes, discussing their dinner with Trump. Afterward, West posted a video claiming that the former president was “really impressed with Nick Fuentes.” 

Fuentes has made countless antisemitic statements, and is the leader of an online white supremacist known as the groypers; the ADL classifies the movement as a hate group. Two weeks ago, Fuentes posted a video openly threatening Jews, saying, “The Jews had better start being nice to people like us. Because what comes out of this is going to be a lot uglier and a lot worse for them than anything that’s being said on this show.”

Antisemitic campaign platform (Nov. 24)

On Thanksgiving, to absolutely no one’s surprise, West announced his intention to run for president in 2024. He then tweeted out a series of campaign videos. Several mentioned his antisemitic statements in recent months, or featured clips of newscasters detailing the fallout, including Adidas breaking its contract with the rapper. Apparently, the antisemitism is a point of pride — and part of West’s campaign platform. After the videos detail his antisemitism, the video zooms in on the rapper as he sits in a large white coat. By his head appear the words: “ye — 2024.”

Visiting a Messianic congregation (Nov. 27)

West spoke to photographers after he visited a Messianic Jewish congregation. (Messianic Jews worship Jesus but also misappropriate pieces of Jewish language and ritual, often including shofars and tallits, to call themselves Jews.) A video shows West going on a lengthy antisemitic tirade, repeating many of his previous allegations about Jewish manipulation and control of celebrities and society at large.

He then said, “We’re holding to Christian, Christ principles first. America is a Christian country,” and went on to imply that non-Christians should not hold any power. Throughout his statement, the rapper repeatedly affirmed his love for Jesus.

After saying that the pastor at the Messianic church asked him about his antisemitic statements and tried to calm him down, West said, “It’s not OK. They tried to destroy me. And Jesus is the way and the life and the King of Israel.”

West continued on to assert that “they” are responsible for Adidas cutting its contract with the rapper, and him getting “debanked.” “It just shows you that all celebrities are controlled,” West said. “All of these people, they’re not serving God.”

“Another issue I have is the fact that Elon won’t reinstate Alex Jones. Alex Jones is a Christian. But you have a person who doesn’t believe that Christ is lord,” the rapper said, apparently referring to Musk, who usually identifies as atheist or agnostic, “picking and choosing who can be on the platform and who can’t be on the platform.”

West ended the paparazzi interview by saying that his friend “Mark” had told him to come to this church because the congregation “knows the truth that Yeshua is Christ, that Jesus is lord.”

Timcast (Nov. 28)

West went on political commentator Tim Pool’s podcast, Timcast, along with Fuentes and Milo Yiannopoulos, another far-right figure. During the podcast, the rapper reiterated many of his antisemitic statements about Jewish influence and control over business and banking, and repeatedly framed himself as a truth-teller who has broken free of “indoctrination.”

“Rahm Emanuel was right next to Obama, and then Jared Kushner was right next to Trump,” West said, explaining his belief that Jews control American presidents.

Later, Pool told West “they” have treated the rapper unfairly. West asked Pool to specify who “they” were.

“The press,” Pool replied. “I don’t use the word as I guess you guys do.” West then got up and walked out while on air. Fuentes and Yiannopoulos followed him out.

Alex Jones (Dec. 1)

The rapper, along with Fuentes, appeared on Infowars, the alt-right conspiracy show hosted by Alex Jones, who famously spread conspiracies alleging that the Sandy Hook shooting was fake. During the broadcast, which was over two hours, West wore an opaque black mask that covered his entire face and repeated his now-familiar tropes about Jewish control and power, alleging that Zionists “debanked” him.

But he also became increasingly open about his antisemitism, repeatedly stating his support for Nazis and Hitler.

“I see good things about Hitler also,” West said. “The Jewish media have made us feel like the Nazis and Hitler have nothing to offer the world.”

Jones, a noted conspiracy theorist, became a relatively even-keeled voice of reason during the broadcast, attempting to steer West to other topics and rein in the rapper’s antisemitism numerous times. “You’re not a Nazi,” Jones said at one point. Later, Jones countered an antisemitic allegation from West with: “I’m not on the whole Jew thing.” At several points, he asked the rapper to remove his mask; West refused.

During the broadcast, West also mocked Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him “Netan” for short and imitating the Israeli politician with a high-pitched voice. Additionally, he insisted that Jews and Zionists are inhabited and controlled by Satan.

Fuentes, meanwhile, alleged that “Jews write in their Talmud that Christ is burning in hell.” He then denied that he was a white supremacist.

New track drops (Dec. 7)

West dropped a clip of a new track on Instagram. In it, one lyric references the tweet that started it all, as West raps “tweeted DEFCON, now we’re past three.” (To review, West did not in fact tweet “DEFCON 3” but instead wrote “death con 3.”)

The end of the clip samples the audio from West’s appearance on Infowars with Alex Jones; in the sample, Jones says, “So you just like the look,” referencing West’s appreciation of Nazi aesthetics. “No,” replies West in the sample. “There’s lots of things that I love.” The line repeats over and over in the song. Instagram removed the video by the next day.

BBC documentary (June 28)

Though West seems to have largely quieted down since 2023 began, new revelations from late 2022 continue to emerge.

A new BBC documentary dropped with revelations from Alex Klein, West’s ex-business partner. Klein worked with West on the release for his album Donda 2, including the creation of the Stem Player, an audio remix program and streaming platform for the album. After West’s antisemitic tirades, however, Klein, who is Jewish, decided to part ways with the musician.

Klein said he asked West whether he truly believed that Jews were out to get him, and that the musician replied: “‘Yes, yes I do but it’s not even a statement that I need to take back because look at all the energy around me right now. Without that statement, I wouldn’t become president.”

When Klein told West he would no longer work with him, the musician was angry, “almost relishing and reveling in how offensive he could be.” Klein said that West told him, “You’re exactly like all the other Jews.”

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