Kanye West has been restricted from accessing his Instagram and Twitter accounts due to anti-semitic posts and tweets.
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.
Kanye’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,” he tweeted.
Kanye then tweeted: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” he wrote in a tweet.
The tweet has been removed by Twitter due to a violation of its policies. His account was also locked, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed on Sunday to Buzzfeed News.
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 Kanye’s return to the platform and replied to a post by the rapper tweeting: “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!”
There is currently a notice from Twitter in the tweet’s place that reads: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules.” Although Kanye’s Twitter account is currently still live, according to Pitchfork, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed that Kanye’s “account was locked for violating Twitter’s policies.”
The restrictions come after Kanye stirred controversy by wearing a White Lives Matter T-shirt during the recent Paris Fashion Week, in a misappropriation of the slogan Black Lives Matter.
On Friday, the hitmaker posted screenshots on Instagram of a conversation with rapper Diddy, who called out Kanye who now goes by the name of Ye, over the T-shirt and its message.
“I will use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me. I told you this was war. Now gone get you some business,” he wrote. The posts have since been deleted from the platform but images can still be found online.
He then said on Twitter that he would target Jewish people in a post that has been blocked by the platform for violating its rules.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) hit out at the rapper for having “fomented hatred of Jews.”
“Kanye West should figure out how to make a point without using antisemitism,” the organisation said.
Kanye West’s week has consisted of:
– Incoherent rants laden with racist and antisemitic undertones made on the country’s top cable news program.
– Anti-Jewish posts shared with his 18 million followers on Instagram.
These posts are dangerous and here’s why:
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) October 7, 2022
The american rapper is no stranger to controversy as he was previously banned from posting on Instagram for 24hours in March, for violating the company’s policies on hate speech, bullying and harassments.
