Petition to ban Kanye West’s music from streaming platforms passes 50 thousand signatures
Kanye has also recently been suspended from Twitter by Elon Musk after posting an image of a swastika
Warning this article contains offensive language and may be distressing for some readers. Resources for support are listed at the end of this article.
A petition has reached over 50 thousand signatures to ban Kanye West from streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music after the artist made antisemitic comments.
Last week, Kanye was interviewed by far-right broadcaster Alex Jones on his channel, Infowars, where the artist said: “I like Hitler”.
“The Jews... I love everyone, and the Jewish people are not going to tell me ‘You can love us and you can love what we are doing to you with the contracts, and you can love what we are pushing with the pornography’,” he continued.
“But this guy [Hitler] that invented highways, invented the very microphone that I use as a musician, you can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good and I am done with that.
“I am done with the classifications. Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler,” Kanye concludes.
The same day his video interview with Jones aired, the artist was banned from Twitter by its new owner Elon Musk for posting an image of a swastika inside the Star of David.
Musk tweeted: “I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.”
In October, Kanye was suspended from Twitter after he allegedly made a series of antisemitic comments just weeks after appearing at Paris Fashion Week in a t-shirt branded “White Lives Matter”.
The GoFundMe page set up by Nathan Goergen states: “Kanye West has recently made statements praising Hitler and denying the Holocaust, after over a month of making harmful antisemitic statements.
“Our society has no place for people who spread that kind of hate to be making millions off of their work. I call on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other streaming platforms to immediately remove all of Kanye West’s solo albums and singles from their platforms.
“By doing this, I hope that we can limit Kanye’s influence on society by eliminating his ability to make money off of people streaming his music. His statements are virtually irredeemable, and the time has finally come for him to receive a major punishment. We cannot let him continue to influence our youth and our society as a whole. Please consider signing this petition.”
Check out the petition here.
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.
Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Video and Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter