TOPLINE
Billionaire musician Kanye West—in the midst of a troubled meltdown on social media after a controversial show during Paris fashion week—had his Instagram account restricted and posts deleted, parent company Meta confirmed to Forbes on Saturday, after a since-deleted, and apparently antisemitic post.
KEY FACTS
A spokesperson for Meta told Forbes that West, who legally changed his name to Ye, violated the company’s rules and policies and that previous content from his account has been removed, although the spokesperson would not clarify which posts were in violation.
The announcement comes one day after West shared a screenshot of a text conversation with rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, appearing to accuse him of being controlled by Jewish people, saying he would use Combs as an “example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
In an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson one night earlier, West claimed the 2020 Abraham Acords peace negotiations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were signed so that the family of Jared Kushner—who is Jewish—could “make money.”
West later posted an old photo on Twitter of him with Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, with the caption, “how you gone kick me off Instagram.”
Musk, who is nearing a deal to purchase Twitter after months of back-and-forth negotiations, replied to the tweet, saying, “welcome back to Twitter, my friend!”
CHIEF CRITIC
The American Jewish Committee posted a video on Instagram on Friday, calling West’s remarks antisemitic, writing they use “tropes like greed and control,” and accusing the rapper of making “incoherent rants laden with racist and antisemitic undertones.” On Friday, StopAntisemitism.org executive director told Newsweek West’s comments on Fox News were “horrifying” and exploit “century-old antisemitic myths” that Jewish people control the country and its money.
NEWS PEG
On Thursday, athletic clothing brand Adidas, which manages West’s Yeezy shoes and apparel, told Forbes it put its partnership with West “under review,” after the rapper presented “White Lives Matter” branded clothing at his fashion show, creating a storm of controversy, and pulling in various fashion figures—from model Gigi Hadid, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and LVMH billionaire owner Bernard Arnault—into the drama, even alleging Arnault “killed” former Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh, who died of cancer last year. West had previously said he plans to end his long-term partnerships with both Adidas and Gap, telling Adidas executives in a videoposted in August to “let me do what I’m thinking, or I have to do the thinking somewhere else.”
KEY BACKGROUND
West has openly acknowledged having bipolar disorder, and has publicly discussed staying off medication for it because it harms him as an artist. In recent years, he’s had a history of bizarre, angry tirades. In 2018 he told TMZ that slavery “sounds like a choice,” and 2020 made comments that Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves,” but that freed slaves went to “work for other white people.” In the past year, West has had a series of seemingly unhinged episodes on social media where he has targeted his estranged wife Kim Kardashian, and her then-boyfriend Pete Davidson, among others.
BIG NUMBER
18 million. That’s how many followers West has on Instagram.
SURPRISING FACT
West tweeted a picture of himself holding a black “2024” hat late Friday night—his first tweet in nearly two years. His last tweet was a silhouette of himself in front of an electoral map of the U.S. during the 2020 election, in which he ran for president, appearing on the ballot in 12 states, and boasted of voting for himself.
FURTHER READING
Kanye West says Mark Zuckerberg kicked him off Instagram: ‘Look at this Mark’ (The Independent)
Kanye West Wears ‘White Lives Matter’ Shirt At Yeezy Fashion Show(Forbes)
Adidas Reconsidering Kanye West’s Yeezy Line (Forbes)
By Brian Bushard, Forbes Staff