Instagram and Twitter ban Kanye West following series of antisemitic posts

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Kanye West’s Instagram and Twitter accounts have been locked after he allegedly made a series of antisemitic comments on both social media platforms over the weekend.

West, whose legal name is Ye, has received widespread criticism following the comments — and has been banned from posting, commenting, or sending DMs on Instagram, a spokesperson from Meta confirmed to NBC News and Rolling Stone.

According to Rolling Stone, Ye was banned for violating the platform’s policies and “repeatedly breaking its rules.” It’s currently unclear if the ban is temporary or permanent.

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In a since-deleted post on Instagram seen by NBC News, Ye shared a text conversation between himself and Sean Combs (AKA P. Diddy), where the rapper claimed that Combs was controlled by Jewish people, referencing an antisemitic theory.

Since the post, which was made on Friday and now deleted by Meta, the American Jewish Committee issued a statement reading: “Kanye West has had a streak of rants this week that is remarkable even by his standards.”

“Ye needs to see that words matter, especially a vicious antisemitic comment that recently surfaced on social media. If he wants to have any credibility as a commentator on social issues, let alone as a musician, maybe he can start by figuring out how to make a point without fomenting hatred of Jews.”

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Ye was also banned from Twitter yesterday (October 9) after a second antisemitic post. The comment in question made reference to an article posted about his ban by Meta, reading: "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.”

The post was immediately taken down by Twitter. A spokesperson told Buzzfeed News that the account was “locked due to a violation of Twitter’s policies”.

However, West’s Twitter return wasn’t incident-free either: On Saturday night, in response to an article that called West anti-Semitic, the rapper tweeted,

Ye has been the centre of criticism over the past week. Earlier in the week, the rapper found himself in hot water after appearing at Paris Fashion Week in a t-shirt branded “White Lives Matter”.

Community Security Trust (CST) is a charity that supports British Jews who have faced antisemitism. For anti-semitic incidents you can call CST on 0800 032 3263 or report online.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter