Kanye West’s Instagram account suspended over racial slur outburst against Trevor Noah

Rapper will lose access to social media platform for 24 hours

Kanye West’s Instagram account has been suspended for a post attacking The Daily Show host Trevor Noah with a racial slur.

The rapper’s account has been locked for 24 hours by the social media platform after he insulted Noah, the writing partner of Kim Kardashian’s boyfriend Pete Davidson.

Instagram’s parent company Meta said it views West’s post as a violation of the platform’s policies on hate speech, harassment and bullying.

Meta confirmed to The Independent that they had deleted content from West’s account and temporarily restricted the account from posting, commenting and sending direct messages.

In his post aimed at Noah, West (now known only as Ye) repeatedly referred to him as a “k**n” after the comedian said that the situation between West, his ex-wife and Davidson was “terrifying to watch”.

The phrase is described by Urban Dictionary as a Black person who is anti-Black.

Following the outburst, Noah addressed West’s use of the racial slur in a reply that has since been removed, due to West’s Instagram suspension.

“You’re an indelible part of my life Ye. Which is why it breaks my heart to see you like this,” Noah wrote in response.

“I don’t care if you support Trump and I don’t care if you roast Pete. I do however care when I see you on a path that’s dangerously close to peril and pain … Don’t ever forget, the biggest trick racists ever played on black people was teaching us to strip each other of our blackness whenever we disagree. Tricking us into dividing ourselves up into splinters so that we would never unite into a powerful rod.”

Noah is believed to have provoked West’s ire with comments made on his show, when he addressed the dynamic between the rapper, Kardashian and Davidson.

“What [Kardashian is] going through is terrifying to watch, and it shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave,” Noah said.

He compared the situation with his own experience with abuse as a child, when his stepfather shot his mother in the head. His mother survived the shooting, but Noah said people thought she was “overreacting” when she raised alarm about the abuse beforehand.

“As a society, we have to ask ourselves questions. Do we wish to stand by and watch a car crash when we thought we saw it coming?” the comedian asked.

Kardashian filed for divorce from West in February 2021 citing irreconcilable differences and was declared legally single on 2 March.

West has made several public appeals to Kardashian to reunite their family; the couple share four children – North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm – together.

He has also repeatedly used Instagram to post outbursts against Davidson, who began dating Kardashian in October last year.

After one of his social media rants against the Saturday Night Live comedian, Kardashian told West he was creating a “dangerous and scary environment” for Davidson.

“Someone will hurt Pete and this will be all your fault,” Kardashian wrote, as seen in screenshots posted by West at the time.

In his recent music videos for single “Eazy”, West included a likeness of Davidson who meets a violent end.

Following the post, West’s ex-girlfriend, Uncut Gems star Julia Fox, claimed the Donda artist’s outbursts were a form of “artistic expression”.